KEPServerEX V5 Help

2011 Kepware Technologies

KEPServerEXV5 Help

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction System Requirements Server Summary Information Components Process Modes

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Interfaces and Connectivity

OPC DA OPC AE OPC UA OPC .NET DDE FastDDE/SuiteLink iFIX Native Interfaces Thin-Client Terminal Server

Accessing the Administration Menu

User Manager User Properties Settings Settings - Administration Settings - Configuration Settings - Runtime Process Settings - Runtime Options Settings - Event Log Settings - ProgID Redirect Settings - Host Resolution

Tag Management
CSV Import and Export Automatic OPC Tag Database Generation System Tags Property Tags Statistics Tags Modem Tags Communication Serialization Tags

Communications Management
Using a Modem in the Server Project Phonebook Tags Phone Number Tags Modem Auto-Dial

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Built-In Diagnostics
OPC Diagnostic Window OPC Diagnostic Events Channel Diagnostics

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Basic Server Components

What is a Channel?
Channel Properties - General Channel Properties - Communications Channel Properties - Network Interface Channel Properties - RTS Line Control Channel Properties - Modem Channel Properties - Write Optimizations Channel Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation Channel Properties - Device Discovery Channel Properties - Advanced

What is a Device?
Device Properties - General Device Properties - Scan Mode Device Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation Device Properties - Timing Device Properties - Auto-Demotion

What is a Tag?
Tag Properties - General Multiple Tag Generation Tag Properties - Scaling Dynamic Tags Static Tags (User-Defined)

What is a Tag Group?

Tag Group Properties

What is the Alias Map?

Alias Properties

What is the Event Log?

Event Log Display Event Log Page Setup

Designing a Project
Running the Server Starting a New Project Adding and Configuring a Channel Adding and Configuring a Device Adding User-Defined Tags

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Generating Multiple Tags Adding Tag Scaling Saving the Project Testing the Project
New Channel - Identification New Channel - Device Driver New Channel - Communications New Channel - Summary New Device - Name New Device - Model New Device - ID New Device - Scan Mode New Device - Timing New Device - Summary

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Server Options
Options - General Options - Runtime Connection

iFIX Signal Conditioning Options

Project Startup for iFIX Applications

Project Properties
Project Properties - Identification Project Properties - OPC DA Settings Project Properties - DDE Project Properties - FastDDE/Suitelink Project Properties - iFIX PDB Settings Project Properties - OPC UA Project Properties - OPC AE Project Properties - OPC .NET Beta

How Do I...
How To... Allow Desktop Interactions How To... Create and Use an Alias How To... Optimize the Server Project How To... Resolve Comm Issues When the DNS/DHCP Device Connected to the Server is Power Cycled How To... Use an Alias to Optimize a Project How To... Use DDE with the Server How To... Use Dynamic Tag Addressing How To... Use Ethernet Encapsulation How To... Use Net DDE Across a Network

Error Descriptions

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Server Runtime Error Messages

'<driver name>' device driver was not found or could not be loaded '<server name>' Server Started '<server runtime>' successfully configured to run as a system service '<server runtime>' successfully removed from the service control manager database Attempt to add DDE item '<item name>' failed Attempt to add FastDDE/SuiteLink item '<tag name>' failed Attempt to add OPC Client item '<item name>' failed Attempting to automatically generate tags for device '<device name>' Auto generation for tag '<tag name>' already exists and will not be overwritten Auto generation produced too many overwrites, stopped posting error messages Channel diagnostics started on channel '<channel name>' Channel diagnostics stopped on channel '<channel name>' Completed automatic tag generation for device '<device name>' Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' as Default User has ended Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' demoted to Read Only Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' promoted to Write Access Configuration session started by '<user name>' Configuration TCP/IP port number changed to '<port number>' Data collection is '<enabled/disabled>' on device '<device name>' DDE client attempt to add topic '<topic>' failed Delete object '<item name>' failed Demo timer started. '<days>' '<hours>' '<minutes>' '<seconds>' Demo timer updated. '<time remaining>' Demonstration time period has expired for <Feature Name> Device '<device name>' has been auto-demoted Device '<device name>' has been auto-promoted to determine if communications can be re-established Failed to upload project XML

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FLEXnet Licensing Service must be enabled to process your license. Runtime references are limited to demo operation 159 Module '<module>' is unsigned or has a corrupt signature. Runtime references are limited to demo operation Move object '<group>' to '<group>' failed No device driver DLLs were loaded Rejecting attempt to delete referenced object '<item name>' Rejecting attempt to move referenced object '<item name>' Runtime project replaced from '<project location>' Simulation mode is '<enabled/disabled>' on device '<device name>' Starting '<driver name>' device driver

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Starting '<plug-in name>' plug-in Stopping '<driver name>' device driver Stopping '<plug-in name>' plug-in The tier information for feature '<feature>' is invalid Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device name>'. Reason: '<reason>' Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device name>'. The device is not responding Unable to load project '<project name>' Unable to write to item '<item name>' Update of object '<object>' failed Write request rejected on item reference '<item name>' since the device it belongs to is disabled Write request rejected on Read Only item reference '<item name>'

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Server Configuration Error Messages

'<device name>' device driver loaded successfully '<driver name>' device driver unloaded from memory '<driver name>' device driver was not found or could not be loaded '<driver name>' driver does not currently support XML persistence '<plug-in>' plug-in was not found or could not be loaded A client application has '<enabled/disabled>' auto-demotion on device '<device name>' Closing project '<project name>' Created backup of project '<project name>' to '<file location>' Duplicate Channel Wizard page ID '<ID number>' detected Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': '<tag name>' is not a valid tag group name Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': '<tag name>' is not a valid tag name Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': Missing address Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': Tag or group name exceeds 256 characters Failed to reset channel diagnostics Failed to retrieve Runtime project Invalid Ethernet encapsulation IP '<IP address>' Invalid or missing Modem Configuration on channel '<channel name>', substituting '<modem>' Invalid XML document '<XML name>' Maximum channel count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Maximum device count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Maximum Runtime tag count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Modem initialization failed on channel '<channel name>' Opening project '<project name>' Required schema file '<schema name>' not found Runtime project update failed Starting OPC diagnostics Stopping OPC diagnostics

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Unable to add channel due to driver-level failure Unable to add device due to driver level failure Unable to backup project file to '<file name/location>' Unable to backup project file to '<file path>' Unable to begin device discovery on channel '<Channel Name>' Unable to launch OPC Quick Client [Path: '<path>' OS Error: '<error>'] Unable to load driver DLL '<driver name>' Unable to load the '<driver name>' driver because more than one copy exists ('<driver name>' and '<driver name>') Unable to use network adapter '<adapter>' on channel '<channel name>'. Using default network adapter Validation error on '<tag name>': Invalid scaling parameters

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General Operation System Error Messages

, Error control , Forced error control , Hardware flow control , Software flow control Dialing '<phone number>' on line '<modem name>' Dialing aborted on '<modem name>' Dialing on line '<modem name>' cancelled by user Failed to open modem line '<modem name>' [TAPI error] Hardware error on line '<modem name>' Incoming call detected on line '<modem name>' Line '<modem name>' connected Line '<modem name>' connected at '<baud rate>' baud Line '<modem name>' disconnected Line '<modem name>' is already in use Line dropped at remote site on '<modem name>' Modem line closed: '<modem name>' Modem line opened: '<modem name>' Modem to Modem DCE: '<connection parameters>' MODEMSETTINGS unavailable No comm handle provided on connect for line '<modem name>' No dial tone on '<modem name>' Remote line is busy on '<modem name>' Remote line is not answering on '<modem name>' TAPI configuration has changed, reinitializing... TAPI line initialization failed: '<modem name>' The phone number is invalid '<phone number>' Unable to apply Modem Configuration on line '<modem name>'

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Unable to dial on line '<modem name>' Unable to start Net DDE

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iFIX Error Messages

Attempt to add iFIX PDB item '< item name>' failed Failed to enable iFIX PDB support for this server [OS Error = n] Unable to enable iFIX PDB support for this server Unable to read '<tag name>' on device ' <channel name/device name>'

Index

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CONTENTS

Introduction Interfaces and Connectivity Accessing the Administration Menu Tag Management Communications Management Built-In Diagnostics Basic Server Components Designing a Project Server Options Project Properties Error Descriptions How do I. . . ?

Note: For information regarding product licensing, refer to the License Utility help file. To access the help file through the server Configuration menu, click Help | Server Help | License Utility. To access the help file through the server Administration menu, right-click on the KEPServerEX icon in the System Tray and then select Help | License Utility. Help version 1.237

Introduction
This software based server is designed for accurate communications, quick setup and unmatched interoperability between client applications, industrial devices and systems. The server provides a wide range of plug-in device drivers and components that suit most communication needs. The plug-in design and single user interface provides consistent access from standards-based applications (such as OPC) and non-standards based applications with native interfaces.

System Requirements
The OPC server has minimum system requirements for both software and hardware. These requirements must be met in order for the application to operate as designed. This application supports the following Microsoft Windows operating systems.

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Windows 7* Windows Server 2008/2008 R2* Windows Vista Business/Ultimate* Windows Server 2003 SP2* Windows XP SP2* Windows 2000 SP4

*When installed on a 64 bit operating system, the application will run in a subsystem of Windows called WOW64 (Windows-on-Windows 64 bit). WOW64 is included on all 64 bit versions of Windows and is designed to make differences between the operating systems transparent to the user. The OPC server requires the following hardware at a minimum.
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2.0 GHz Processor 1 GB installed RAM 180 MB available disk space Ethernet Card

Server Summary Information

The server provides basic summary information about itself and the drivers that are currently installed for its use.

About the Server

The server version is readily available for review and provides a means of finding driver-specific information. To access, click Help | Support Information in the server main menu. For a display of the versions of all installed plug-in components, click Version.

Component Version Information

The Version window displays the installed drivers and components along with their version numbers. For driverspecific summary information, select a driver and then click Summary.

Driver Information
The Driver Information window provides a summary of the driver's default settings. Every driver will display the maximum number of supported channels.

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The information available is as follows.

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Summary provides the driver name and type, the maximum number of supported channels and the number of models in the driver. COMM Defaults displays the default settings for the driver. The default settings may or may not match the settings of the device or devices being configured. Driver flag definitions displays the driver library functions and indicates whether or not they have been enabled in the driver. Model Information displays driver-specific addressing and driver features. It lists the name for each supported model as well as its specific addressing values and other features.

Components
The server implements client/server architecture. The components include Configuration, Runtime, Administration and Event Log.

Configuration
The Configuration is the client-user interface that is used to modify the Runtime's project. The Configuration can be launched by multiple users and will eventually support remote Runtime configuration.

CSVImport and Export

This server supports the import and export of tag data in a Comma Separated Variable (CSV) file. When using CSV import and export, tags are created quickly in the desired application. For more information, refer to CSVImport and Export.

Runtime
The Runtime is the server component that starts as a service by default. Clients can connect to the runtime remotely or locally.

Administration
The Administration is used to view and/or modify settings and launch applications that pertain to user management and the server. By default, the Administration is started and sent to the System Tray when a user account logs onto the operating system.

Event Log
The Event Log service collects information, warnings and error events. These events are then sent to the Configuration's Event Log window for viewing. For more information, refer to What is the Event Log?

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Process Modes
The Runtime's process mode can be changed while the server is running; however, doing so while a client is connected will interrupt the connection for a short period of time. The modes of operation are System Service and Interactive.

System Service
By default, the server is installed and runs as a service. When System Service is selected, the Runtime does not require user intervention and will start when the operating system opens. This provides user independent access to the server by the clients.

Interactive
When Interactive is selected, the Runtime will remain stopped until a client attempts to connect to it. Once started, it will run until all clients have disconnected and then shutdown. The Runtime will also shutdown if the user account logs off the operation system. Note: The Runtime's process mode may be changed to meet client applications' needs through the Administration settings dialogs. System Service is required for the following conditions:
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When iFIX is required to run on an operating system while UAC is enabled.

Interactive is required for the following conditions:

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When a communication interface (such as DDE) must exchange information with the user desktop and the server is installed on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or later operating systems.

See Also: Settings - Runtime Process and How To...Allow Desktop Interactions.

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

This communications server simultaneously supports the client/server technologies listed below. Client applications can use any of these technologies to access data from the server at the same time. For more information on a specific interface, select a link from the list below. OPC DA OPC AE OPC UA OPC .NET DDE FastDDE/SuiteLink iFIX Native Interfaces Thin-Client Terminal Server

OPC DA
Supported Versions
1.0a 2.05a 3.0

Overview
"OPC" stands for Open Productivity and Connectivity in industrial automation and the enterprise systems that support industry. It is a client/server technology where one application acts as the server (providing data) and another acts as a client (using data). OPC is composed of a series of standards specifications: OPC Data Access (DA) is the most prolific standard. OPC DA is a widely accepted industrial communication standard that enables data exchange between multi-vendor devices and control applications without proprietary restrictions. An OPC server can communicate data continuously among PLCs on the shop floor, RTUs in the field, HMI stations, and software applications on desktop PCs. OPC compliance makes continuous real-time communication possible (even when the hardware and software are from different vendors).

OPC Data Access 1.0a was the original specification developed by the OPC Foundation in 1996. Although it continues to be supported by many of the OPC client applications in use today, OPC Data Access 2.0 Enhanced OPC better utilizes the underlying Microsoft COM technology. OPC Data Access 3.0 is the latest version of the OPC DA interface. See Also: Project Properties - OPCDASettings and Project Properties - OPCDACompliance.

OPC AE
Supported Versions
1.0 1.10

Overview

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OPC Alarms & Events (AE) is a specification developed by the OPC Foundation to standardize the way that alarm and event information is shared among systems. Using the standard, AE clients can receive alarms and event notices for equipment safety limits, system errors, and other abnormal situations. Simple Events Simple Events include the server events displayed in the Event Log (such as startup, shutdown, warning, and error events). The server supports the following filtering options for Simple Events for AE clients:
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Event Type: Simple. Event Category: Filter by server-defined categories. Each event is assigned to one category. Descriptions of the categories are as follows:
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Runtime Error Events: Simple events that are shown as errors in the Event Log. Runtime Warning Events: Simple events that are shown as warnings in the Event Log. Runtime Information Events: Simple events that are shown as informational in the Event Log.

Condition Events Condition Events are created by server conditions, which are currently only configurable through the use of the Alarms & Events Plug-In. The server supports the following filtering options for Condition Events for AE clients: 1. Event: Condition. 2. Category: Filter by server-defined categories. Each event is assigned to one category. Descriptions of the categories are as follows:
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LevelAlarms: Events that are generated by process level conditions. For example, tank level > 10. Deviation Alarms: Events that are generated by deviation conditions. For example, tank level +/- 10. Rate of Change Alarms: Events that are generated by rate of change conditions.

3. Severity: Filter by severity level. Levels range from 0 to 1000; 1000 is the most severe. Each event is assigned a severity. 4. Area: Filter by a process area to get alarms and events from only that area. An area is used to organize alarm and event information. 5. Source: Filter by source to get events from only that source. A source is an Alarms & Events area that was created by a source (such as a server tag) that belongs to an area. Note: The Alarms & Events Plug-In allows conditions to be configured through server tags. For example, a Temperature Tag can be configured through the Alarms &Events Plug-In to generate an event when the maximum value is reached. For more information on the Alarms &Events Plug-In, contact an OPCvendor. See Also: Project Properties - OPCAE

Optional Interfaces
The AE server interface does not support the following optional interfaces:
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IOPCEventServer::QueryEventAttributes: This interface manages event attributes, which are not supported by the server. Attributes allow custom information to be added to an event (such as special messages or server tag values). This also applies to the IOPCEventSubscriptionMgt::SelectReturnedAttributes interface and the IOPCEventSubscriptionMgt::GetReturnedAttributes interface. IOPCEventServer::TranslateToItemIDs: This interface allows AE clients to get the OPCDA item related to the event. This is because in some cases, events are related to the value of a server tag. IOPCEventServer2: This interface allows clients to enable/disable areas and sources. This interface is not supported by the server, because it would allow one client to enable/disable an area or source for all clients.

Note: The AE server interface does not support tracking events.

OPC UA
Supported Version
1.01 optimized binary TCP

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Overview
OPC Unified Architecture (UA) is an open standard created by the OPC Foundation with help from dozens of member organizations. It provides an additional way to share factory floor data to business systems (from shopfloor to top-floor). UA also offers a secure method for remote client-to-server connectivity without depending on Microsoft DCOM. It has the ability to connect securely through firewalls and over VPN connections. This implementation of the UA server supports optimized binary TCP and the DA data model. Note: Currently, neither UA via HTTP/SOAP web services nor for complex data is supported. For more information, refer to the OPC UA Configuration Manager help file.

OPC UA Profiles
OPC UA is a multi-part specification that defines a number of services and information models referred to as features. Features are grouped into Profiles, which are then used to describe the functionality supported by a UA server or client. For a full list and a description of each OPC UA profile, refer to http://www.opcfoundation.org/profilereporting/index.htm.

Fully Supported OPCUAProfiles

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Standard UA Server Profile Core Server Facet Data Access Server Facet SecurityPolicy - Basic128Rsa15 SecurityPolicy - Basic256 SecurityPolicy - None UA-TCP UA-SC UA Binary

Partially Supported OPC UA Profiles

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Base Server Behavior Facet

Note: This profile does not support the Security Administrator XML Schema. See Also: Project Properties - OPCUA

OPC .NET
Supported Version
1.20.2

Overview
OPC .NET is a family of APIs provided by the OPC Foundation that leverage Microsoft's .NET technology and allow .NET clients to connect to the server. This server supports OPC .NET 3.0 WCF, formally known as OPC Xi. Unlike other OPC .NET APIs, OPC .NET 3.0 uses Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) for connectivity, thus avoiding DCOM issues and providing the following benefits:
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Secure communication via multiple communications bindings (such as Named Pipe, TCP, Basic HTTP, and Ws HTTP). Consolidation of OPCClassic Interfaces. Simple development, configuration, and deployment of Windows environment.

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The server adds OPC .NET 3.0 support using a customized version of the OPC .NET 3.0 WCF Wrapper supplied by the OPC Foundation. The wrapper runs as a system service called "xi_server_runtime.exe". It wraps the existing server's OPC AE and DA interfaces, thus providing WCF clients access to the server's tag and alarm data. It does not support Historical Data Access (HDA). Note: The OPC .NET service is only started when the server starts and the interface is enabled. Unlike OPC DA, clients cannot launch the server. For more information on configuration, refer to Project Properties OPC .NET Beta.

Requirements
To install and use OPC .NET 3.0, Microsoft .NET 3.5 must be present on the machine before server installation.

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Supported Formats
CF_Text XL_Table Advanced DDE Network DDE

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Overview
Although this server is first and foremost an OPC server, there are still a number of applications that require Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) to share data. As such, the server provides access to DDE applications that support one of the following DDE formats: CF_Text, XL_Table, and Advanced DDE. CF_Text and XL_Table are standard DDE formats developed by Microsoft for use with all DDE aware applications. Advanced DDE is a high performance format supported by a number of client applications specific to the industrial market. CF_Text and XL_Table The DDE format CF_Text is the standard DDE format as defined by Microsoft. All DDE aware applications support the CF_Text format. XL_Table is the standard DDE format as defined by Microsoft that is used by Excel. For more information on DDE, refer to How To... Use DDE with the Server. Advanced DDE Advanced DDE is the DDE format defined by Rockwell Automation. Today, all Rockwell Client applications are Advanced DDE aware. Advanced DDE is a variation on the normal CF_Text format, which allows larger amounts of data to transfer between applications at higher rates of speed (and with better error handling). Network DDE Network DDE (Net DDE) is the standard for remote DDE connection as defined by Microsoft. It uses the CF_Text format. For more information on Net DDE, refer to How to... Use Net DDE Across a Network.

Requirements
In order for the DDE interface to connect with the server, the Runtime must be allowed to interact with the desktop. For more information, refer to How To... Allow Desktop Interactions. See Also: Project Properties - DDE

FastDDE/SuiteLink
Overview
FastDDE is a DDE format defined by Wonderware Corporation. It allows larger amounts of data to transfer between applications at higher speed (and with better error handling) than generic DDE. SuiteLink is a client/server communication method that has succeeded FastDDE. It is TCP/IP based and has improved bandwidth and speed. Both FastDDE and SuiteLink are supported by all Wonderware client applications. Note: The Wonderware connectivity toolkit is used to simultaneously provide OPC and FastDDE/SuiteLink connectivity while allowing for quick access to device data without the use of intermediary bridging software.

Requirements
In order for the FastDDE interface to connect with the server, the Runtime must be allowed to interact with the desktop. For more information, refer to How To... Allow Desktop Interactions. See Also: Project Properties - FastDDE/SuiteLink

iFIX Native Interfaces

Overview
The iFIX Native Interface simplifies the connection task by allowing a direct connection to the local iFIX application without the use of the iFIX OPC Power Tool. When supported, this interface also has the ability to refine the connection between the server and the iFIX Process Database (PDB). See Also: Project Properties - iFIX PDB Settings

Thin-Client Terminal Server

Overview
Windows Remote Desktop, which was formerly called Terminal Services, is a Microsoft Windows component that allows users to access data and applications on a remote computer over a network. It also enables communications servers to be configured via remote client machines.

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KEPServerEX V5 Help Accessing the Administration Menu

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The Administration Menu is a tool that is used to view and/or modify user management settings and launch server applications. To access the Administration Menu, right-click on the Administration icon located in the System Tray. The menu should appear as shown below.

Description of the options are as follows:

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Configuration: This option launches the OPC server's configuration. Start Runtime Service: This option starts the server Runtime process and loads the default Runtime project. Stop Runtime Service: This option disconnects all clients and then saves the default Runtime project before stopping the server Runtime process. Reinitialize: This option disconnects all clients and resets the Runtime server. It automatically saves and reloads the default Runtime project without stopping the server Runtime process. Reset Event Log: This option resets the Event Log. The date, time and source of the reset will be added to the Event Log in the configuration window. User Manager...: This option launches the Registered Users dialog, through which new users can be added and existing accounts can be edited. For more information, refer to User Manager. Settings...: This option launches the Settings dialog. For more information, refer to Settings - Administration. OPC UA Configuration: This option launches the OPC UA Configuration Manager. OPC .NET Configuration - Beta:This option launches the OPC.NET Configuration Manager - Beta. Quick Client: This option launches the Quick Client. License Utility: This option launches the server's License Utility. Help: This option launches the server's help documentation. Support Information: This option launches a dialog that contains basic summary information on both the server and the drivers currently installed for its use. For more information, refer to Server Summary Information. Exit: This option closes the Administration and removes it from the System Tray. To view it again, select it from the Windows Start menu.

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User Manager
This server includes a built-in User Manager that allows complete control over which users can access the Runtime and what privileges they have once connected. This is critical since the server can be managed remotely and more than one account can be connected at a time. The Administrator account is used to add multiple users, each with their own set of rights for server access. Any user action that can influence or disrupt server operation is logged to server's Event Logging system. By default, all server operations are available at all times. The User Manager functions are available only when needed.

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User Accounts
There are always two user accounts available by default: the Administrator account and the Default User account. Only the Administrator account can be used to add additional users to the system or to change the settings of existing accounts. By default, the password for the Administrator account is blank, as this disables the security settings for connecting the Configuration. Setting the password will enable the User Management System. Although the Administrator account cannot be deleted, its name and password can be changed. The Default User account is used when no other account is active. This is the normal condition of the server. Like the Administrator account, the Default User account cannot be deleted; however, its name and password are fixed. The account can only be disabled when the Administrator denies the Default User all privileges.

Adding and Editing User Accounts

The Administrator can create additional user accounts by clicking on the New User icon in the User Properties dialog. Similarly, existing user accounts can be edited by selecting the account and either double-clicking on it or by pressing the Edit User icon. To delete a user account, select it and then press the Delete User icon. Note: When the User Management system is used, the server will log the current account name to the Event Log for all server actions taken by the user.

User Properties
The server's User Management system controls the actions a user can take within the server project. The User Properties dialog is used to configure an account's name, password, and privileges.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows.

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Name: This parameter is used to specify a name for the user. The name can be up to 31 characters in length. Description: This parameter is used to briefly describe each user account. This can be particularly helpful for ensuring that operators log in to the proper account. Password: This parameter is used to specify the password that the user must enter in order to log into the system. The password can be up to 15 characters in length. It must be entered correctly in both the Password and Confirm fields for the change to be accepted. Each time a user account is edited, the password must be re-entered. If the field is left blank, the password will be removed from the account. Confirm: This field is used to confirm the password entered in the parameter above. Privileges: This parameter is used to control the actions that can be accessed by a specific user account. Descriptions of the selections are as follows:
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Make changes to project files: When checked, this selection allows users to modify the server's Project Properties (including settings in the Identification tab, the OPCDASettings tab, and so forth). When unchecked, users cannot make any changes to the project. For more information on settings that will be available with this privilege, refer to Project Properties. Make changes to application settings: When checked, this selection allows users to modify the Server Options (including Confirmations or Runtime Connection settings) or Administration Settings (including settings in the Administration tab,the Configuration tab, and so forth). When unchecked, users cannot make any changes to the application settings. For more information on settings that will be available with this privilege, refer to Server Options and Settings. Perform functions that cause active clients to be disconnected: When checked, this selection allows users to perform functions that may cause clients to be disconnected from the server (including the Administration menu's Stop Runtime Service and Reinitialize actions). When unchecked, users cannot disrupt currently active clients. For more information on settings that will be available with this privilege, refer to Accessing the Administration Menu. Note: Only the Administrator can access server-specific functions from the Administration utility when Login Mode is enabled.

Settings
To access the Settings tabs, right-click on the Administration icon located in the System Tray. Then, select Settings. For more information, select a link from the list below.

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Settings Settings Settings Settings Settings Settings Settings

Administration Configuration Runtime Process Runtime Options Event Log ProgID Redirect Host Resolution

Settings - Administration
The Administration tab is used to configure the Runtime Administration's actions.

Description of the parameter is as follows:

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Automatically start Administration: When checked, this parameter enables the Administration to start automatically. The Administration is a System Tray application that allows quick links to various server tools including the Settings Console, Configuration, Licensing Utility, User Manager Console and controls for stopping and starting the Runtime service.

Settings - Configuration
The Configuration tab is used to configure how the Configuration both connects to and interacts with the Runtime.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows.

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Communicate using port: This parameter is the TCP/IP port that will be used to communicate between the Configuration and the Runtime. To obtain the default setting, click Default. Allow runtime to accept remote connections: When checked, the Runtime will be able to accept remote connections. The default setting is unchecked. Maximum number of simultaneous configuration connections: This setting is used to specify the number of Configuration connections that can be made to the Runtime at one time. The range is 1 to 64. The default is 10. Maximum seconds without communication before session timeout: This setting is used to set the length of time that the console connection can sit idle before it times out. The range is 10 to 3600 seconds. The default is 60 seconds.

Settings - Runtime Process

The Runtime Process tab is used to specify the server Runtime's process mode, as well as how it utilizes the PC's resources.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows.

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Selected Mode: This parameter is used to specify whether the server will be running as System Service or Interactive. By default, the server installs and runs as System Service. Changing this setting causes all clients, both Configuration and process, to be disconnected and the server to be stopped and restarted. It will also restore user-configured DCOM settings to default. High Priority: This parameter is used set the server process priority to high. The default setting is normal. When checked, this setting allows the server to have priority access to resources. Note: Microsoft recommends against setting applications to a high priority as it can adversely affect other applications running on the same PC.

Process Affinity: This parameter is used to specify which CPUs the server can be executed on when it is run on PCs containing more than one.

Settings - Runtime Options

The Runtime Options tab is used to change settings in the project that's being executed in the Runtime.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Use DCOM configuration utility settings: This parameter allows users to select authentication and also launch and access security requirements through the DCOM Configuration Utility. In addition, users can both specify the level of security to implement and restrict access for certain users and/or applications. When this setting is disabled, the server will override the DCOM settings set for the application and will not perform any authentication on the calls received from client applications. It will impersonate the security of the client when performing any actions on behalf of the client application. Disabling this setting provides the lowest level of security and is not recommended. If this setting is chosen, users should ensure that the client and server applications are running in a secure environment so that the application is not compromised.

Backup the Runtime project prior to replacement: This parameter enables the Runtime project to be backed up before it is overwritten. The backup's location will be displayed in the Event Log. This option is enabled by default. Note: The Runtime project will be overwritten if either New or Open is selected while connected to the Runtime. In addition, connecting to the Runtime while working offline with a project may result in Runtime project replacement.

Keep the most recent: This parameter limits the number of backup files that will be saved to disk. The range is 1 to 1000. The default is 10. Clean up now: This parameter invokes a confirmation dialog that allows users to delete all the Runtime project backups. Doing so will not affect the current running project. Allow clients to write to system level tags controls Write access to System Tags on a given device. In some cases, users may not want a client application to have the ability to turn a device on or off in the project. This setting applies to all system level tags. This option is disabled by default.

Settings - Event Log

The Event Log tab is used to define whether or not a Runtime log file is kept; and, if so, where and how many events are logged into it.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows.

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Communicate using port: This parameter is the TCP/IP port that will be used to communicate between the Event Log and the Runtime. To obtain the default setting, click Default. Preserve log on disk: This parameter enables the use of a disk-based log file. When enabled, all events in the server will be maintained on disk from one run to the next. If disabled, the server's Event Logging system will be recorded in memory and no disk log will be generated. When disabled, the Event Log contents will be emptied each time the server is run. Log file path: This parameter specifies where the log file will be stored its preservation is enabled. Maximum number of events to log: This parameter determines the number of records the log system will hold before the Log Full action comes into effect. The valid range is 100 to 30000 records. The default value is 1000 records. If users attempt to change this parameter to a value that is less than the current number of records in the log, they will receive a warning that log file truncation will occur.

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Note: The Event Log System would be useless if there was no mechanism to protect its contents. If operators could change these parameters or reset the log, the purpose would be lost. Utilize the User Manager to limit what functions an operator can access.

Settings - ProgID Redirect

Many OPC client applications connect to an OPC server through the OPC server's ProgID. Users who need to migrate or upgrade to a new OPCserver often prefer to do so without changing their tag database(which can contain thousands of tags that link to the OPC server ProgID). This server offers ProgID redirection to assist users in these transitions. The ProgIDRedirect feature allows users to enter the legacy server's ProgID. The server will create the necessary Windows Registry entries to allow a client application to connect to the server using the legacy server's ProgID.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Add:This button is used to add a ProgID to the redirection list. When clicked, it invokes the "Add New ProgID" dialog. For more information, refer to "Adding a New ProgID" below. Remove: This button is used to remove a selected ProgID from the redirection list.

Note: A redirected ProgID cannot be browsed by OPC client applications that use the OpcEnum service to locate OPC servers. In most cases, users can enter the redirected ProgID into the client application manually.

Adding a New ProgID

For more information, refer to the instructions below. 1. In the ProgIDRedirect tab, click Add. 2. In ProgID, enter the ProgID of the legacy server.

3. Upon completion, click OK. Note: The client application should not be running while the legacy server's ProgID is being added to the redirection list. Failure to observe this warning may result in the client application not respecting the newly redirected ProgID.

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

The Host Resolution tab is used to specify how the server manages Host Name Resolution with Ethernet drivers that support the use of host names for connectivity.

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows.

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Cache resolved names for __ seconds: This parameter is used to determine how long the server will keep the resolved addresses from host names. The server caches network addresses that it has resolved from host name requests for a period of time to improve performance when the same address is requested repeatedly. The period is 30 to 7200 seconds. The default is 30 seconds. Maximum outstanding requests: This parameter is used to specify how many simultaneous requests for Host Name Resolution can be processed at one time. It allows multiple Ethernet drivers to process at the same time and also manages the resources that are used to resolve host names. The range is 1 to 8 requests. The default is 4.

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The server's user-defined tag management features can create a tag database structure to fit each application's specific nature. Users can define multiple tag groups to segregate tag data on a device-by-device basis, and can also easily add large numbers of tags through drag and drop editing. CSV import and export also allow tag editing in any application. Like all other server features, new tags can be added to the application at any time.

Automatic Tag Database Generation

The OPC server's ability to automatically generate tags for select communication drivers brings OPC technology one step closer to Plug and Play operation. Tag information can be read directly from a device, and tags can also be generated from stored tag data. In either case, users no longer need to manually enter OPC tags into the server.

System Tags
System Tags provide general error feedback to client applications, allow the operation control over when a device is actively collecting data, and also permit a channel or device's standard parameters to be changed from an OPC client application. The number of System Tags available at the channel or device level depends on the nature of the driver being used. Note:System Tags can be grouped according to their purpose as both status and control or parameter manipulation.

Property Tags
Property Tags are additional tags that can be accessed by any Data Access client by appending the property name to any fully qualified tag address. When using an OPC client that supports item browsing, users can browse Tag Properties by turning on Include tag properties when a client browses the server under OPC DA Settings. For more information, refer to Project Properties - OPC DA Settings.

Statistics Tags
Statistics Tags provide feedback to client applications regarding the operation of the channel communications in the server. When diagnostics are enabled, seven built-in Statistics Tags will be available. For more information, refer to OPC Diagnostics Window.

Modem Tags
Modem Tags configure modem properties and monitor modem status. They are only available when the Connection Type in Channel Properties is set to Modem. For more information, refer to Channel Properties Communications and Channel Properties - Modem.

Communication Serialization Tags

Driver communications normally occur simultaneously across multiple channels, thus yielding higher data throughput. In some applications, however, it is required that only one channel be allowed to communicate at a time. Communication Serialization provides this support. Communication Serialization Tags are used to configure and monitor a channel's serialization status. Both the feature and its tags are only available to specific drivers. For more information, refer to the driver's help documentation.

CSV Import and Export

This server can import and export tag data in a Comma Separated Variable (CSV) file to quickly create tags in an application. The CSV functions are only available when a device or tag group is selected. Note: For information on which character to specify as the variable, refer to Options - General. To jump to a specific section, select a link from the list below. Exporting a Server Tag List Importing a Server Tag List into the Server Using Other Characters as the Delimiter

Creating a Template
The easiest way to create and import CSV file is to create a template. For more information, refer to the instructions below. 1. To start, click File | Export CSV. Then, define the channels and devices for the project. 2. Define a tag for each device.

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3. Next, export each device or tag group as a CSV file. 4. Use this template in a spreadsheet application that supports CSV files and then modify the file as desired. Note: The resulting CSV file can be saved to disk and re-imported into the server under the same (or new) device or tag group.

Exporting a Server Tag List

Exporting a server tag list generates a .CSV text file that contains a heading record followed by a record for each tag defined under the selected device or tag group. The heading record contains the following fields:
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Tag Name: The name of the tag as it will be referenced in an OPC client. Address: The device location referenced by the tag. Data Type: The data type used for the tag as shown in the server tag's Data Type drop-down list. Respect Data Type: This forces the tag to follow its defined data type, not the OPC client request (1, 0). Client Access: Read/Write access (Read Only and Read/Write). Scan Rate: The rate in milliseconds at which the tag address will be scanned when used with most nonOPC clients. Scaling: Scaling mode (None, Linear, and Square Root). Raw Low: Low raw value. Raw High: High raw value. Scaled Low: Scaled low value. Scaled High: Scaled high value. Scaled Data Type: The data type used for the tag after scaling is applied. Clamp Low: Forces the resulting scaled value to stay within the limit of Scaled Low (1, 0). Clamp High: Forces the resulting scaled value to stay within the limit of Scaled High (1, 0). Eng. Units: Units string. Description: The description of the tag. Negate Value: Negates the resulting value before being passed to the client when scaling is applied (1, 0).

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Note: Each tag record contains the data for each field. Microsoft Excel is an excellent tool for editing large groups of tags outside the server. Once a template CSV file has been exported, it can be loaded directly into Excel for editing. A CSV file load in Excel would appear as shown in the image below.

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Importing a CSV Tag List into the Server

Once the tag list has been edited, it can be re-imported into the server by clicking File | Import CSV. This option is only available when a device or tag group is selected.

Using Other Characters as the Delimiter

When utilizing a CSV file that does not use a comma or semi-colon delimiter, users should do one of the following:
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Save the project in XML. Then, perform mass configuration on the XML file instead of using CSV. Perform a search-and-replace on the delimiter in the CSV file and then replace the delimiter with a comma or semicolon. The delimiter being used by the OPC server (either comma or semicolon) must be set to the replacement character.

See Also: Options - General

Automatic OPC Tag Database Generation

This server's Automatic OPC Tag Database Generation features make setting up the OPC application a plug and play operation. Select communications drivers can be configured to automatically build a list of OPC tags within the server that correspond to device-specific data. These automatically generated OPC tags (which depend on the nature of the supporting driver) can then be browsed from the OPC client. If the target device supports its own local tag database, the driver will read the device's tag information and then use the data to generate OPC tags within the server. If the device does not natively support its own named tags, the driver will create a list of tags based on driver-specific information. An example of these two conditions is as follows: 1. If a data acquisition system supports its own local tag database, the communications driver will use the tag names found in the device to build the server's OPC tags. 2. If an Ethernet I/O system supports detection of its own available I/O module types, the communications driver will automatically generate OPC tags in the server that are based on the types of I/O modules plugged into the Ethernet I/O rack. Note: Automatic tag database generation's mode of operation is completely configurable. For more information, refer to the parameter descriptions below.

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Important: When running in System Service Mode, the file from which tags are created must be located in a folder accessible to System Service in order for it to be loaded by the Runtime. For example, a file residing in a network drive that requires authentication will cause the loading to fail. For more information on System Service Mode, refer to Process Modes.

Automatic Tag Database Generation on Device Startup

This parameter specifies when OPC tags will be automatically generated. Descriptions of the options are as follows:
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Do not generate on startup: This option prevents the driver from adding any OPC tags to the tag space of the server. This is the default setting. Always generate on startup: This option causes the driver to evaluate the device for tag information. It will also add OPC tags to the tag space of the server every time the server is launched. Generate on first startup: This option causes the driver to evaluate the target device for tag information the first time the project is run. It will also add any OPC tags to the server tag space as needed.

Note: When the option to automatically generate OPC tags is selected, any tags that are added to the server's tag space must be saved with the project. Users can configure the project to automatically save from the Tools | Options menu.

Perform the Following Action

When automatic tag database generation is enabled, the server needs to know what to do with the tags that it may have previously added or with tags that have been added or modified after the communications driver since their original creation. The Perform the following action setting controls how the server handles OPC tags that were automatically generated and currently exist in the project. It also prevents automatically generated tags from accumulating in the server. For example, refer to the second Ethernet I/O example discussed above. If users continued to change the I/O modules in the rack with the server configured to Always generate new OPC tags on startup, new tags would be added to the server every time the communications driver detected a new I/O module. If the old tags were not removed, many unused tags could accumulate in the server's tag space. The Perform the following action setting tailors the server's operation to best fit a specific application's needs. Descriptions of the options are as follows: 1. Delete on create: This option deletes any tags that were previously added to the tag space before any new tags are added. This is the default setting.

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2. Overwrite as necessary: This option instructs the server to only remove the tags that the communications driver is replacing with new tags. Any tags that are not being overwritten will remain in the server's tag space. 3. Do not overwrite: This option prevents the server from removing any tags that were previously generated or already existed in the server. The communications driver can only add tags that are completely new. 4. Do not overwrite, log error: This option has the same effect as the third option, and also posts an error message to the server's Event Log when a tag overwrite would have occurred. Note: Removing OPC tags affects tags that have been automatically generated by the communications driver as well as any tags that have been added using names that match generated tags. Users should avoid adding tags to the server using names that may match tags that are automatically generated by the driver.

Add Generated Tags to the Following Group

This parameter keeps automatically generated tags from mixing with tags that have been entered manually. It specifies a subgroup that will be used when adding all automatically generated tags. The name of the subgroup can be up to 256 characters in length. As shown in the images below, this parameter provides a root branch to which all automatically generated tags will be added.

Note:In this image, the parameter was left blank.

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Note: In this image, the parameter specified "MyGroup".

Allow Automatically Generated Subgroups

This parameter controls whether the server will automatically create subgroups for the automatically generated tags. Checked The server will automatically generate the device's tags and organize them into subgroups. In the server project, the resulting tags will retain their tag names.

Note:This is the default setting. Unchecked The server will automatically generate the device's tags in a simple list without any subgrouping. In the server project, the resulting tags will be named with the address value. For example, the tag names will not be retained during the generation process. The image below shows how the tag names were created using the tag's address.

Note: If, as the server is generating tags, a tag is assigned the same name as an existing tag, the system will automatically increment to the next highest number so that the tag name is not duplicated. For example, if the generation process were to create a tag named "AI22" but a tag already existed with that name, it would create the tag as "AI23" instead.

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Auto Create

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This button manually initiates the creation of automatically generated OPC tags. If the device's configuration has been modified, clicking Auto Create will force the communications driver to reevaluate the device for possible tag changes. Its ability to be accessed from the System Tags allows OPC client application to initiate tag database creation. Note: The Auto-Create button will be disabled when the Configuration edits a project offline. Important: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features in order to prevent operators from changing the parameters.

System Tags
System Tags provide general error feedback to client applications, allow operational control when a device is actively collecting data, and allow a channel or device's standard parameters to be changed by an OPC client application when needed.

System Tags
The number of System Tags available at both the channel-level or device-level depends on the nature of the driver being used. In addition, application-level System Tags allow client applications to monitor the server's status. System tags can also be grouped according to their purpose as both status and control or parameter manipulation.

Parameter Control Tags

While standard System Tags provide feedback on server operation, the parameter control tags can be used to modify the server application's operational characteristics. This provides a great deal of flexibility in the OPC applications. By using the parameter control tags, users can implement redundancy by switching communications links or changing the Device ID of a target device. Users can also provide access to the tags through special supervisory screens that allow a plant engineer to make changes to the communication parameters of the server if needed. The tables below include descriptions of the following: Application-Level System Tags Channel-Level System Tags for Serial Port Drivers Channel-Level System Tags for Ethernet Drivers Device-Level System Tags for both Serial and Ethernet Drivers

Application-Level System Tags

Syntax Example: <Channel Name>.<Device Name>._System._ActiveTagCount Tag _ActiveTagCount Class: Status Tag This is a Read Only tag. _ClientCount Class: Status Tag This is a Read Only tag. _Date Class: Status Tag The _Date Tag indicates the current date of the system that the server is running on. The format of this string is defined by the operating system date/time settings. This is a Read Only tag. _Date_Day Class: Status Tag This is a Read Only tag. _Date_Month Class: Status Tag The _Date_Month Tag indicates the current month of the system on which the server is running. The format of the string is a number (such as "9" instead of "September"). This is a Read Only tag. The _Date_Day Tag indicates the current day of the month of the system on which the server is running. The _ClientCount Tag indicates the number of clients that are currently connected to the server. Description The _ActiveTagCount Tag indicates the number of tags that are currently active in the server.

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_Date_Year2 Class: Status Tag This is a Read Only tag. _Date_Year4 Class: Status Tag This is a Read Only tag. _DateTime Class: Status Tag This is a Read Only tag. _DateTimeLocal Class: Status Tag

KEPServerEXV5 Help
The _Date_Year2 Tag indicates the last two digits of the current year of the system on which the server is running.

The _Date_Year4 Tag indicates the current year of the system on which the server is running.

The _DateTime Tag indicates the GMT date and time of the system that the server is running on. The format of the string is '2004-05-21T20:39:07.000'.

The _DateTimeLocal Tag indicates the localized date and time of the system that the server is running on. The format of the string is '2004-0521T16:39:07.000'. This is a Read Only tag.

_FullProjectName Class: Status Tag

The _FullProjectName Tag indicates the fully qualified path and file name to the currently loaded project. This is a Read Only tag.

_OpcClientNames Class: Status Tag

The _OpcClientNames Tag is a String Array that lists the names of all OPC clients that connect to the server and register their name through the IOPCCommon::SetClientName method. This is a Read Only tag.

_ProjectName Class: Status Tag

The _ProjectName Tag indicates the currently loaded project file name and does not include path information. This is a Read Only tag.

_ProjectTitle Class: Status Tag

The _ProjectTitle Tag is a String tag that indicates the title of the project that is currently loaded. This is a Read Only tag.

_Time Class: Status Tag

The _Time Tag indicates the current time of the system that the server is running on. The format of this string is defined by the operating system date/time settings. This is a Read Only tag.

_Time_Hour Class: Status Tag

The _Time_Hour Tag indicates the current hour of the system on which the server is running. This is a Read Only tag.

_Time_Hour24 Class: Status Tag

The _Time_Hour24 Tag indicates the current hour of the system on which the server is running in a 24 hour format. This is a Read Only tag.

_Time_Minute Class: Status Tag

The _Time_Minute Tag indicates the current minute of the system on which the server is running. This is a Read Only tag.

_Time_PM Class: Status Tag

The _Time_PM Tag indicates the current AM/PM status of the system on which the server is running. This is a Boolean tag: 0 (False) indicates AM, and 1 (True)indicates PM. This is a Read Only tag.

_Time_Second Class: Status Tag

The _Time_Second Tag indicates the current second of the system on which the server is running. This is a Read Only tag.

_TotalTagCount Class: Status Tag

The _TotalTagCount Tag indicates the total number of tags that are currently being accessed. These tags can be active or inactive.

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Note: This count does not represent the number of tags configured in the project. This is a Read Only tag.

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Channel-Level System Tags for Serial Port Drivers

Syntax Example: <Channel name>._System._BaudRate Tag _AvailableNetworkAdapters Class: Parameter Tag Description The _AvailableNetworkAdapters Tag lists the available NICs and will include both unique NIC cards and NICs that have multiple IPs assigned to them. Additionally this tag will also display any WAN connections that are active, such as a dialup connection. This tag is provided as a string tag and can be used to determine the network adapters available for use on this PC. The string returned will contain all of the NIC names and their IP assignments. A semicolon will separate each unique NIC in order to allow the names to be parsed within an OPC application. For a serial driver this tag will only be used if Ethernet Encapsulation is selected. This is a Read Only tag. _NetworkAdapter Class: Parameter Tag The _NetworkAdapter Tag allows the current NIC adapter in use by the driver to be changed at will. As a string tag, the name of the newly desired NIC adapter must be written to this tag in string format. The string written must match the exact description of the desired NIC in order for the change to take effect. NIC names can be obtained from the _AvailableNetworkAdapters tag listed above. For a serial driver, this tag will only be used if Ethernet Encapsulation is selected. Note: When changing the NIC selection the driver will be forced to break all current device connections and reconnect. This is a Read/Write tag. _ComId Class: Parameter Tag The _ComId Tag allows the comm port selection for the driver to be changed at will. As a string tag, the desired comm port must be written to the tag as a string value using the following possible selections: COM 1, COM 2 COM 3, COM 4, - - -, COM 16, and Ethernet Encapsulation. When selecting Ethernet Encapsulation Mode, users will also need to set the IP number of the remote terminal server. This is done at the device-level and will be shown below. This is a Read/Write tag. _BaudRate Class: Parameter Tag The _BaudRate Tag allows the baud rate of the driver to be changed at will. The _ BaudRate Tag is defined as a long value and therefore new baud rates should be written in this format. Valid baud rates are as follows: 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 56000, 56700, 115200, 128000 and 256000. This is a Read/Write tag. _Parity Class: Parameter Tag The _Parity Tag allows the parity of the driver to be changed at will. As a string tag, the desired parity setting must be written to the tag as a string value using the following possible selections: None, Odd and Even. This is a Read/Write tag. _DataBits Class: Parameter Tag The _DataBits Tag allows the data bits of the driver to be changed at will. The _ DataBits tag is defined as a signed 8 bit value. Valid data bits selections are 5, 6, 7 and 8. This is a Read/Write tag. _StopBits Class: Parameter Tag The _StopBits Tag allows the stop bits of the driver to be changed at will. The _ StopBits tag is defined as a signed 8 bit value. Valid data bit selections are 1 and 2. This is a Read/Write tag. _FlowControl Class: Parameter Tag The _FlowControl Tag allows the flow control setting of the driver to be changed at will. As a string tag, the desired flow control setting must be written to the tag in this format. Possible selections for flow control include: None, DTR, RTS, "DTR,RTS", RTS Always and RTS Manual. Not all drivers support the RTS Manual

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mode of operation. This is a Read/Write tag. _RtsLineRaise Class: Parameter Tag

KEPServerEXV5 Help

The _RtsLineRaise Tag allows the RTS Line to be raised for a user-selected period of time before the driver attempts to transmit a message. This tag will only be effective for drivers that support Manual RTS mode. The _RtsLineRaise is defined as a long value. The valid range is 10 - 2550 milliseconds. The Manual RTS mode has been designed for use with radio modems. This is a Read/Write tag.

_RtsLineDrop Class: Parameter Tag

The _RtsLineDrop Tag allows the RTS Line to be lowered for a user-selected period of time after the driver attempts to transmit a message. This tag will only be effective for drivers that support Manual RTS mode. The _RtsLineDrop is defined as a long value. The valid range is 0 - 2550 milliseconds. The Manual RTS mode has been designed for use with radio modems. This is a Read/Write tag.

_RtsLinePollDelay Class: Parameter Tag

The _RtsLinePollDelay Tag allows a user-configurable pause to be placed after each message sent from the driver. This tag will only be effective for drivers that support Manual RTS mode. The _RtsLinePollDelay is defined as a long value. The valid range is 0 - 2550 milliseconds. The Manual RTS mode has been designed for use with radio modems. This is a Read/Write tag.

_ReportComErrors Class: Parameter Tag

The _ReportComErrors Tag allows the reporting of low level communications errors such as parity and framing errors to be enabled or disabled. This tag is defined as a Boolean tag and can be set either true or false. When true, the driver will report any low-level communications error to the server event system. When set false the driver will ignore the low-level communications errors and not report them. The driver will still reject a communications transaction if it contains errors. If the environment contains a lot of electrical noise, this feature can be disabled to prevent the Event Log from filling with error messages. This is a Read/Write tag.

_EnableDiagnostics Class: Parameter Tag

The _EnableDiagnostics Tag allows the diagnostic system of the driver to be enabled and disabled. The diagnostic system places a little additional burden on the driver while enabled. As such the server allows diagnostics to be enabled or disabled to improve the driver's performance. When disabled, the Diagnostics Tags will not be available. Note: For more information, refer to Statistics Tags. This is a Read/Write tag.

_WriteOptimizationDutyCycle Class: Parameter Tag

The _WriteOptimizationDutyCycle Tag allows the duty cycle of the Write to Read ratio to be changed at will. The duty cycle controls how many Writes the driver will do for each Read it performs. The _WriteOptimizationDutyCycle is defined as an unsigned long value. The valid range is 1 to 10 Write per Read. For more information, refer to Channel Properties: Write Optimizations. This is a Read/Write tag.

Channel-Level System Tags for Ethernet Drivers

Syntax Example: <Channel name>._System._NetworkAdapter Tag _AvailableNetworkAdapters Class: Parameter Tag Description The _AvailableNetworkAdapters Tag lists the available NICs and will include both unique NIC cards and NICs that have multiple IPs assigned to them. Additionally this tag will also display any WAN connections that are active, such as a dialup connection. This tag is provided as a string tag and can be used to determine the network adapters available for use on this PC. The string returned will contain all of the NIC names and their IP assignments. A semicolon will separate each unique NIC in order to allow the names to be parsed within an OPC application. For a serial driver, this tag will only be used if Ethernet Encapsulation is

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selected. This is a Read Only tag. _NetworkAdapter Class: Parameter Tag The _NetworkAdapter Tag allows the current NIC adapter in use by the driver to be changed at will. As a string tag, the name of the newly desired NIC adapter must be written to this tag in string format. The string written must match the exact description of the desired NIC in order for the change to take effect. NIC names can be obtained from the _AvailableNetworkAdapters tag listed above. For a serial driver, this tag will only be used if Ethernet Encapsulation is selected. Note: When changing the NIC selection, the driver will be forced to break all current device connections and reconnect. This is a Read/Write tag. _EnableDiagnostics Class: Parameter Tag The _EnableDiagnostics Tag allows the diagnostic system of the driver to be enabled and disabled. The diagnostic system places a little additional burden on the driver while enabled. As such the server allows diagnostics to be enabled or disabled to improve the driver's performance. When disabled, the Diagnostics Tags will not be available. Note: For more information, refer to Statistics Tags. This is a Read/Write tag. _WriteOptimizationDutyCycle Class: Parameter Tag The _WriteOptimizationDutyCycle Tag allows the duty cycle of the Write to Read ratio to be changed at will. The duty cycle controls how many Writes the driver will do for each Read it performs. The _WriteOptimizationDutyCycle is defined as an unsigned long value. The valid range is 1 to 10 Write per Read. Note:For more information, refer to Channel Properties: Write Optimizations. This is a Read/Write tag.

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Device-Level System Tags for both Serial and Ethernet Drivers

Syntax Example: <Channel Name>.<Device Name>._System._Error Tag _DeviceId Class: Parameter Tag Description The _DeviceId Tag allows the ID of the device to be changed at will. The data format of the _DeviceId depends on the type of device. For most serial devices this tag will be a Long data type. For Ethernet drivers the _DeviceId will be formatted as a string tag, allowing the entry of an IP address. In either case, writing a new Device ID to this tag will cause the driver to change the target field device. This will only occur if the Device ID written to this tag is correctly formatted and within the valid range for the given driver. This is a Read/Write tag. _ConnectTimeout Class: Parameter Tag The _ConnectTimeout Tag allows the timeout associated with making an IP connection to a device to be changed at will. This tag is available when either a native Ethernet driver is in use or a Serial driver is in Ethernet Encapsulation mode. The _ConnectTimeout is defined as a Long data type. The valid range is 1 to 30 seconds. This is a Read/Write tag. _RequestTimeout Class: Parameter Tag The _RequestTimeout Tag allows the timeout associated with a data request to be changed at will. The _RequestTimeout tag is defined as a Long value. The valid range is 100 to 30000 milliseconds. This parameter tag applies to all drivers equally. This is a Read/Write tag. _RequestAttempts Class: Parameter Tag The _RequestAttempts Tag allows the number of retry attempts to be changed at will. The _RequestAttempts is defined as a Long value. The valid range is 1 to 10 retries. This parameter tag applies to all drivers equally.

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This is a Read/Write tag. _InterRequestDelay

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The _InterRequestDelay Tag allows the time interval between device transactions to be changed at will. The _InterRequestDelay is defined as a Long data type. The valid range is 0 to 30000 milliseconds. This parameter tag only applies to drivers that support this feature. This is a Read/Write tag.

_EncapsulationIp Class: Parameter Tag

The _EncapsulationIp Tag allows the IP of a remote terminal server to be specified and changed at will. This parameter tag is only available on serial drivers that support Device Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation mode. The _ EncapsulationIp is defined as a string data type, allowing the entry of an IP address number. The server will reject entry of invalid IP addresses. This tag is only valid for a Serial driver in Ethernet Encapsulation mode. This is a Read/Write tag.

_EncapsulationPort Class: Parameter Tag

The _EncapsulationPort Tag allows the port number of the remote terminal server to be specified and changed at will. The _EncapsulationPort is defined as a long data type. The valid range is 0 to 65535. The port number entered in this tag must match that of the desired remote terminal server for proper Ethernet Encapsulation to occur. This tag is only valid for a Serial driver in Ethernet Encapsulation mode. This is a Read/Write tag.

_EncapsulationProtocol Class: Parameter Tag

The _EncapsulationProtocol Tag allows the IP protocol used for Ethernet Encapsulation to be specified and changed at will. The _EncapsulationProtocol is defined as a string data type. Writing either "TCP/IP" or "UDP" to the tag specifies the IP protocol. The protocol used must match that of the remote terminal server for proper Ethernet Encapsulation to occur. This tag is only valid for a Serial driver in Ethernet Encapsulation mode. This is a Read/Write tag.

_AutoCreateTagDatabase Class: Parameter Tag

The _AutoCreateTagDatabase Tag is a Boolean tag that is used to initiate the automatic OPC tag database functions of this driver for the device to which this tag is attached. When this tag is set TRUE, the communications driver will attempt to automatically generate an OPC tag database for this device. This tag will not appear for drivers that do not support Automatic OPC Tag Database Generation. This is a Read/Write tag.

_Enabled Class: Parameter Tag

The _Enabled Tag is a Boolean tag that allows the active state of the device to be turned On or Off. When this tag is set FALSE, all other user-defined tags and data from this device will be marked as invalid and Writes will not be accepted for the device. When this tag is set TRUE, normal communications will occur with the device. This is a Read/Write tag.

_Error Class: Status Tag

The _Error Tag is a Boolean tag that returns the current error state of the device. When FALSE, the device is operating properly. When set TRUE, the driver has detected an error when communicating with this device. A device enters an error state if it has completed the cycle of request timeouts and retries without a response. Note: For more information, refer to Device Properties - Timing. This is a Read Only tag.

_NoError Class: Status Tag

The _NoError Tag is a Boolean tag that returns the current error state of the device. When TRUE, the device is operating properly. When FALSE, the driver has detected an error when communicating with this device. A device enters an error state if it has completed the cycle of request timeouts and retries without a response. Note: For more information, refer to Device Properties - Timing. This is a Read Only tag.

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_Simulated Class: Status Tag The _Simulated Tag is a Boolean tag that provides feedback about the simulation state of the current device. When Read as TRUE, this device is in a simulation mode. While in simulation mode, the server will return good data for this device but will not attempt to communicate with the actual physical device. When tag is Read as FALSE, communication with the physical device will be active. This is a Read Only tag. _AutoDemoted The _AutoDemoted Tag is a Boolean tag that returns the current auto-demoted state of the device. When FALSE, the device is not demoted and is being scanned by the driver. When set TRUE, the device is in demoted and not being scanned by the driver. This is a Read Only tag. _AutoDemotionEnabled

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The _AutoDemotionEnabled Tag is a Boolean tag that allows the device to be automatically demoted for a specific time period when the device is unresponsive. When this tag is set FALSE, the device will never be demoted. When this tag is set TRUE, the device will be demoted when the _AutoDemotedFailureCount has been reached. This is a Read/Write tag.

_AutoDemotedFailureCount

The _AutoDemotedFailureCount Tag specifies how many successive failures it takes to demote a device. The _AutoDemotedFailureCount is defined as a long data type. The valid range is 1 to 30. This tag can only be written to if _AutoDemotionEnabled is set to TRUE. This is a Read/Write tag.

_AutoDemotionIntervalMS

The _AutoDemotionIntervalMS tag specifics how long, in milliseconds, a device will be demoted before re-attempting to communicate with the device. The _ AutoDemotionIntervalMS is defined as a long data type. The valid range is 100 to 3600000 milliseconds. This tag can only be written to if _AutoDemotionEnabled is set to TRUE. This is a Read/Write tag.

_AutoDemotionDiscardWrites

The _AutoDemotionDiscardWrites Tag is a boolean tag that specifies whether or not Write requests should be discarded during the demotion period. When this tag is set to FALSE, all Writes requests will be performed regardless of the _ AutoDemoted state. When this tag is set to TRUE, all Writes will be discarded during the demotion period. This is a Read/Write tag.

When using an OPC client, the System Tags will be found under the _System branch of the server browse space for a given device. The following image taken from the supplied OPC Quick Client shows how the System Tags appear to an OPC client.

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The _System branch found under the DeviceName branch is always available. If referencing a system tag from a DDE application given the above example and the DDE defaults, the link would appear as "<DDE service name>|_ ddedata!Channel1.Device1._System._Error". The _Enabled tag provides a very flexible means of controlling the OPC applications. In some cases, specifically in modem applications, it can be convenient to disable all devices except the device currently connected to the modem. Additionally, using the _Enable tag to allow the application to turn a particular device off while the physical device is being serviced can eliminate harmless but unwanted communications errors in the server's Event Log. See Also: Property Tags, Statistics Tags, and Modem Tags.

Property Tags
Property Tags are used to provide Read Only access to Tag Properties for client applications. To access a tag property, append the property name to the fully qualified tag address that has been defined in the server's tag database. For more information, refer to Tag Properties - General. If the fully qualified tag address is "Channel1.Device1.Tag1," its description can be accessed by appending the description property as "Channel1.Device1.Tag1._Description".

Supported Property Tag Names

Tag Name _Name _Address _Description _RawDataType Description The _Name property tag indicates the current name for the tag it is referencing. The _Address property tag indicates the current address for the tag it is referencing. The _Description property tag indicates the current description for the tag it is referencing. The _RawDataType property tag indicates the raw data type for the tag it is referencing.

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_ScalingType _ScalingRawLow The _ScalingType property tag indicates the scaling type (None, Linear or Square Root) for the tag it is referencing. The _ScalingRawLow property tag indicates the raw low range for the tag it is referencing. If scaling is set to none this value contains the default value if scaling was applied. The _ScalingRawHigh property tag indicates the raw high range for the tag it is referencing. If scaling is set to none this value contains the default value if scaling was applied. The _ScalingScaledDataType property tag indicates the scaled to data type for the tag it is referencing. If scaling is set to none this value contains the default value if scaling was applied. The _ScalingScaledLow property tag indicates the scaled low range for the tag it is referencing. If scaling is set to none this value contains the default value if scaling was applied. The _ScalingScaledHigh property tag indicates the scaled high range for the tag it is referencing. If scaling is set to none this value contains the default value if scaling was applied. The _ScalingClampLow property tag indicates whether the scaled low value should be clamped for the tag it is referencing. If scaling is set to none this value contains the default value if scaling was applied. The _ScalingClampHigh property tag indicates wether the scaled high value should be clamped for the tag it is referencing. If scaling is set to none this value contains the default value if scaling was applied. The _ScalingUnits property tag indicates the scaling units for the tag it is referencing. If scaling is set to none this value contains the default value if scaling was applied.

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_ScalingRawHigh

_ScalingScaledDataType _ScalingScaledLow

_ScalingScaledHigh

_ScalingClampLow

_ScalingClampHigh

_ScalingUnits

See Also: Statistics Tags, System Tags, and Modem Tags.

Statistics Tags
Statistics Tags are used to provide feedback to client applications regarding the operation of the channel communications in the server. Currently there are seven built-in statistics tags available when diagnostics are enabled. For more information, refer to OPC Diagnostic Window. Syntax Example: <Channel Name>._Statistics._FailedReads

Supported Statistics Tag Names

Tag Name _SuccessfulReads Description The _SuccessfulReads Tag contains a count of the number of Reads this channel has completed successfully since the start of the application or since the last time the _Reset tag was invoked. This tag is formatted as unsigned 32 bit integer and will eventually rollover. This tag is Read Only. The _SuccessfulWrites Tag contains a count of the number of Writes this channel has completed successfully since the start of the application or since the last time the _Reset tag was invoked. This tag is formatted as an unsigned 32 bit integer and will eventually rollover. This tag is Read Only. The _FailedReads Tag contains a count of the number of Reads this channel has failed to complete since the start of the application or since the last time the _Reset tag was invoked. This count is only incremented after the channel has failed the request based on the configured timeout and retry count for the device. This tag is formatted as an unsigned 32 bit integer and will eventually rollover. This tag is Read Only. The _FailedWrites Tag contains a count of the number of Writes this channel has failed to complete since the start of the application or since the last time the _Reset tag was invoked. This count is only incremented after the channel has failed the request based on the configured timeout and retry count for the device. This tag is formatted as unsigned 32 bit integer and will eventually rollover. This tag is Read Only. The _RxBytes Tag contains a count of the number of bytes the channel has received from connected devices since the start of the application or since the last time the _Reset tag was invoked. This tag is formatted as unsigned 32 bit integer and will eventually rollover. This tag is Read Only. The _TxBytes Tag contains a count of the number of bytes the channel has sent to connected devices since the start of the application or since the last time the _Reset tag was

_SuccessfulWrites

_FailedReads

_FailedWrites

_RxBytes

_TxBytes

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invoked. This tag is formatted as unsigned 32 bit integer and will eventually rollover. This tag is Read Only. _Reset The _Reset Tag can be used to reset all diagnostic counters. The _Reset tag is formatted as a Boolean tag. Writing a non-zero value to the _Reset tag will cause the diagnostic counters to be reset. This tag is Read/Write. The _MaxPendingReads Tag contains a count of the maximum number of pending read requests for the channel since the start of the application (or the _Reset tag) was invoked. This tag is formatted as an unsigned 32 bit integer. The tag is Read Only. The _MaxPendingWrites Tag contains a count of the maximum number of pending write requests for the channel since the start of the application (or the _Reset tag) was invoked. This tag is formatted as an unsigned 32 bit integer. The tag is Read Only. The _PendingReads Tag contains a count of the current pending read requests for the channel. This tag is formatted as an unsigned 32 bit integer. The tag is Read Only. The _PendingWrites Tag contains a count of the current pending write requests for the channel. This tag is formatted as an unsigned 32 bit integer. This tag is Read Only.

_MaxPendingReads _MaxPendingWrites _PendingReads _PendingWrites

Statistics Tags are only available when diagnostics are enabled. To access from an OPC client, the diagnostic tags can be browsed from the _Statistics branch of the server browse space for a given channel. The following image is taken from the OPC Quick Client, and shows how a Diagnostics Tag appears to an OPC client.

The _Statistics branch (located beneath the Channel branch) will only appear when diagnostics have been enabled for the channel. In order to reference a Diagnostics Tag from a DDE application given the above example and the DDE defaults, the link would appear as "<DDE service name>|_ddedata!Channel1._Statistics._SuccessfulReads". The Diagnostics Tag's value can also be viewed in the server by using the Channel Diagnostics window. If "Enable Diagnostics" has been selected under Channel Properties, right-click on that channel and then select Diagnostics. For more information, refer to Channel Diagnostics. See Also: System Tags and Property Tags.

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The following tags are created automatically for the channel when modem use is selected. Syntax Example: <Channel Name>.<Device Name>._Modem._Dial

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Supported Modem Tag Names

Tag Name _Dial Description Access Writing any value to this tag initiates dialing of the current PhoneNumber. The Write is Read/Write ignored unless the current Status is 3 (Idle). An error is reported if the is current phone number has not been initialized. Attempting to issue a dial command while the Mode Tag is set to 2 (incoming call only) will generate an error. The DialNumber Tag shows the phone number that is actually dialed, after any dialing preference translations have been applied (such as the addition of an area code). This tag is intended for debugging purposes. It can provide useful feedback to an operator if phone numbers are entered manually. Read Only

_DialNumber

_Hangup

Writing any value to this tag hangs up the current connection. The Hangup Tag will also Read/Write hang-up the current connection when an external device has called the server. Writes to the Hangup Tag will be ignored if the Status <= 3 (Idle) meaning that there is no currently open connection. Whenever the Status changes, the reason for the change is set in this tag as a number. For a list of event numbers and meanings, refer to Last Event Values. This allows for configuring the line for calling only, answering only or both. Writing a 1 to the Mode Tag sets the line for outgoing calls only, no incoming calls will be answered when in this mode. Writing a 2 to the Mode Tag sets the line for incoming calls only, requests to dial out (Writes to the Dial tag) are ignored. The default setting is 0, which allows for both outgoing and incoming calls. This value can only be changed when the Status is <= 3 (Idle). Read Only Read/Write

_LastEvent _Mode

_PhoneNumber

This is the current phone number that will be dialed. Users can Write to this value at any Read/Write time, but the change is only effective if Status is <= 3 (Idle). If users Write to the phone number while the status is greater than 3, the number will be queued. As soon as the status drops to 3 or less, the new number will be transferred to the tag. The queue is of size 1, so only the last phone number written will be remembered. The phone number must be in canonical format in order to apply the dialing preferences. If the canonical format is used, the resulting number that will be dialed (after dialing preferences have been applied) can be displayed as the DialNumber. Canonical format is the following: +<country code>[space](<area code>)[space]<phone number> example: +1 (207) 846-5881 Note: The country code for the U.S. is 1. If the number is not in canonical form, dialing preferences will not be applied. The number will be dialed exactly as it is entered. Users can also enter a Phonebook Tag name instead of a phone number. In this case, the current value of the Phonebook Tag will be used.

_Status _StringLastEvent _StringStatus

This is the current status of the modem assigned to a channel. For a list of status values and meanings, refer to Status Values. This contains a textual representation of the LastEvent Tag value. For a list of event numbers and meanings, refer to Last Event String Values. This contains a textual representation of the Status Tag value. For a list of event numbers and meanings, refer to Status String Values.

Read Only Read Only Read Only

Status Values
The five lowest bits of the 32 bit status variable are currently being used. Bit Meaning

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0 1 2 3 4 Initialized with TAPI Line open Connected Calling Answering

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When read as an integer, the value of the Status Tag will always be one of the following: Value 0 1 3 7 11 19 Meaning Un-initialized, the channel is not usable Initialized, no line open Line open and the state is idle Connected Calling Answering

Status String Values

Status Value 0 1 3 7 11 19 StringStatus Text Uninitialized, channel is unusable Initialized, no line open Idle Connected Calling Answering

Last Event Values

LastEvent -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Reason for Change <blank> [no events have occurred yet] Initialized with TAPI Line closed Line opened Line connected Line dropped by user Line dropped at remote site No answer Line busy No dial tone Incoming call detected User dialed Invalid phone number Hardware error on line caused line close

Last Event String Values

LastEvent -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 StringLastEvent <blank> [no events have occurred yet] Initialized with TAPI Line closed Line opened Line connected Line dropped by user Line dropped at remote site No answer Line busy No dial tone Incoming call detected User dialed

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11 12 13 Invalid phone number Hardware error on line caused line close Unable to dial

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Communication Serialization Tags

Syntax Example: <Channel Name>._CommunicationSerialization._VirtualNetwork Tag _VirtualNetwork Class: Parameter Tag Description The _VirtualNetwork Tag allows the virtual network selection for the channel to be changed on the fly. As a string tag, the desired virtual network must be written to the tag as a string value using the following possible selections: None, Network 1, Network 2, ---, Network 50. To disable communication serialization, select None. This tag is Read/Write. _Registered Class: Status Tag The _Registered Tag indicates whether the channel is currently registered to a virtual network. After setting the _VirtualNetwork, the channel will unregister from the network it is currently registered to (indicated in _RegisteredTo) when it is capable of doing so. In other words, if the channel owns control during the switch, it cannot unregister until it has released control. Upon unregistering, the channel will register with new virtual network. This tag will be FALSE if _VirtualNetwork is None. This tag is Read Only. _RegisteredTo Class: Status Tag The _RegisteredTo Tag indicates the virtual network to which the channel is currently registered. After setting the _VirtualNetwork, the channel will unregister from the network it is currently registered to when it is capable of doing so. In other words, if the channel owns control during the switch, it cannot unregister until it has released control. Upon unregistering, the channel will register with new virtual network. This tag will indicate if there are delays switching networks as _VirtualNetwork and _RegisteredTo could differ for a period of time. This tag will be N/A if _VirtualNetwork is None. This tag is Read Only. _NetworkOwner Class: Status Tag The _NetworkOwner Tag indicates if the channel currently owns control of communications on the network. The frequency of change reflects how often the channel is granted control. This tag is Read Only. _StatisticNetworkOwnershipCount Class: Status Tag The _StatisticNetworkOwnershipCount Tag indicates the number of times the channel has been granted control of communications since the start of the application (or since the last time _StatisticsReset was written to). This tag is formatted as an unsigned 32-bit integer and may eventually rollover. This tag is Read Only. _StatisticNetworkOwnershipTimeSec Class: Status Tag The _StatisticNetworkOwnershipTimeSec Tag indicates how long in seconds the channel has held ownership since the start of the application (or since the last time _StatisticsReset was written to). This tag is formatted as a 32-bit floating point and may eventually rollover. This tag is Read Only. _StatisticAvgNetworkOwnershipTimeSec Class: Status Tag The _StatisticAvgNetworkOwnershipTimeSec Tag indicates how long on average the channel holds ownership of control since the start of the application (or since the last time _StatisticsReset was written to). This tag will aid in identifying busy channels/bottlenecks. This tag is formatted as a 32-bit floating point and may eventually rollover. This tag is Read Only. _StatisticsReset The _StatisticsReset Tag can be used to reset all the statistic counters. The _StatisticsReset tag is formatted as a Boolean tag. Writing a non-zero value to the _ StatisticsReset tag will cause the statistics counters to be reset.

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This tag is Read/Write.

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Auto-Demotion

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The Auto-Demotion parameters allow a driver to temporarily place a device off-scan in the event that a device is not responding. By placing a nonresponsive device offline, the driver can continue to optimize its communications with other devices on the same channel by stopping communications with the nonresponsive device for a specific time period. After the specific time period has been reached, the driver will re-attempt to communicate with the nonresponsive device. If the device is responsive, the device will be placed on-scan; otherwise, it will restart its off-scan time period. For more information, refer to Device Properties - AutoDemotion.

Network Interface Selection

An NIC card can be selected for use with any Ethernet driver or serial driver running in Ethernet Encapsulation mode. The Network Interface feature is used to select a specific NIC card based on either the NIC name or its currently assigned IP address. The list of available NICs will include both unique NIC cards and NICs that have multiple IPs assigned to them. The selection will also display any WAN connections that may be active (such as a dialup connection).

Ethernet Encapsulation
The Ethernet Encapsulation mode has been designed to provide communications with serial devices connected to terminal servers on the Ethernet network. A terminal server is essentially a virtual serial port: the terminal server converts TCP/IP messages on the Ethernet network to serial data. Once the message has been converted to a serial form, users can connect standard devices that support serial communications to the terminal server. Using a terminal server device allows users to place RS-232 and RS-485 devices throughout the plant operations while still allowing a single localized PC to access the remotely mounted devices. Furthermore, the Ethernet Encapsulation mode allows an individual Network IP address to be assigned to each device as needed. By using multiple terminal servers, users can access hundreds of serial devices from a single PC via the Ethernet network. For more information, refer to How Do I... and Device Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation.

Modem Support
This server supports the use of modems to connect to remote devices, which is established through the use of special modem tags that become available at the channel-level when a dial-up network connection has been created. These channel-level modem tags can be used to dial a remote device, monitor the modem status while connected and terminate the call when completed. Note: Not all serial drivers support the use of modems. To determine modem support, refer to the specific driver's help documentation. When accessing the new modem tags, the channel name can be used as either a base group or topic name. If the project contains more than one channel definition, users will need to configure the channel names so that each is unique. This remains true for device names, as well. Channel names can no longer match the device name when the project needs to be configured to use a modem. The channel name requirements do not apply to projects that are not using a modem. In order to be used, modems need to be configured with the operating system through the Control Panel settings. For specific setup information, refer to the Windows and modem documentation. Once the modem has been properly installed, it can be enabled by selecting the Use Modem checkbox in the Channel Wizard. Important: Many new commercial modems are designed to dial-up network server connections and negotiate the fastest and clearest signal. When communicating to a serial automation device, the modem needs to connect at a specific Baud (Bits per Second) and Parity. For this reason, an external modem (which can be configured to dial using specific Baud Rate and Parity settings) is strongly recommended. To determine the best modem for a specific application, refer to Technical Support. For examples on how to use a modem in a project, refer to Using a Modem in the Server Project.

Using a Modem in the Server Project

Modems convert serial data from the RS-232 port into signal levels that can be transmitted over the phone line. To do this, they break down each byte of the serial data into bits that are then used to generate the signal that will be transmitted. Most modems can convert up to 10 bits of information for every byte of data that is sent. Devices must be able to use 10 bits or less in order to communicate through a modem. To determine the amount of bits being used by a specific device, refer to the formula below. Start Bits + Data Bits + Parity + Stop Bits = Total Bit Count

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For example, the Modbus RTU Driver is configured to use 8 Data Bits, Even Parity, 1 Stop Bit, and 1 Start Bit. When plugged into the formula, it would be 1 + 8 + 1 + 1, which equals 11 bits. A normal modem could not transmit data to this Modbus device. If Parity is changed to None, it would be 1 + 8 + 0 + 1, which equals 10 Bits. A normal modem could transmit data to this Modbus device. Some drivers cannot be configured to use a 10 bit or less data format, and so cannot use standard modems. Instead, they require modems that can handle transmitting 11 data bits. For drivers that fall into this category, consult the device's manufacturer for recommendations on an appropriate modem vendor. Modem operation is enabled for all serial drivers regardless of their suitability for modem operation.

Configuring the Initiating Modem

This server uses the Windows TAPI interface to access modems attached to the PC. The TAPI interface was designed to provide Windows programs a common interface that could be accessed by a range of modems existing in a PC. A set of drivers provided by the modem's manufacturer for the Windows OS must be installed before the server can use the modem in a project. The Windows Control Panel can be used to install new modems. For information regarding modem installation and setup, refer to both the Windows and the modem's help documentation. Once the modem has been properly installed, users can begin using it in a server project. The receiving end, or the device modem, must be properly configured before it can be used. Users will need to confirm that the receiving modem matches the profile provided by the driver.

Configuring the Receiving Modem

To easily configure the receiving modem, use the Hyperterminal program that is included with Windows. For more information, follow the instructions below. Note: The following example uses a project that specified the connection to use 10 bits or less. 1. To start, use an available Serial Port to connect the desired receiving modem to the PC. 2. Next, start Hyperterminal and open a new connection. Name this new connection "ModemSetup". 3. In Connect To, click the Connect Using drop-down menu and then select the communication port to which the receiving modem is attached. Other modems may appear in this list. 4. In COMx Properties, configure the communications port settings that will be used to talk to the receiving modem. Important: The COMx Properties settings must match the Baud Rate, Data Bits, Parity, and Stop Bits used by the target device. Modems remember the settings that were used to talk to it last; thus, if the receiving modem was configured at 19,200 baud but the device was configured for 9600 baud, the modem will never be able to speak to the device. Although it could connect, the receiving modem would send all the data to the device at 19,200 baud. This is true even if the modem connects at 9600 baud or if the transmitting modem is being spoken to at 9600 baud. Any disparity between the settings will cause the modem application to fail. To avoid the error, match the settings between the newly created server project and one that has a direct cable connection. 5. Next, enter the port settings. Once finished, click OK. Note: At this point, users should be able to issue commands to the receiving modem. On many modems, this can be tested by typing "ATI4" followed by "Enter". If the modem is properly attached to the PC, it will respond by displaying its current profile settings. For information on a specific modem, refer to its help documentation. 6. Set the receiving modem's desired profile and then save the settings by issuing a write command. To do so, type "AT&W0" followed by "Enter". Note: To test the receiving modem's configuration, simply turn it off for a moment and then turn it back on. 7. Next, type "AT14" followed by "Enter" (or another applicable command). The modem should display its current profile, including any changes that have been made. Important: The profile settings and reference documents are provided as examples. Due to the differences in configuration commands and codes among modem manufacturers, users should refer to the modem's help documentation.

Cables

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Before the project can be used, the cable connection must be configured between the receiving modem and the device. Three cables are required: the existing device communication cable for direct connection, a NULL modem adapter, and a NULL modem cable. A NULL modem cable is connected to the modem, and all pins are connected to the same pins on both ends of the cable. The device communication cable is used to connect to the target device, and usually has pins 2 and 3 reversed. Because the cable being used to talk to the device for the direct connection is working by this point, it can be used on the receiving modem by attaching a NULL modem adapter. Similarly, a PC modem cable will run from the PC to the initiating modem. With the cables in place, a modem can now be used in the application. Note: NULL modem adapters can be found at most computer stores.

Example: Server Side Modem Configuration

After the modems have been configured and installed, they can be used with the server. 1. To start, load the direct connect project and then double-click on the channel name. In Channel Properties select Modem from the Connection Type drop-down menu. 2. Next, open the Modem tab to display the list of modems that are available on the computer. Note: If no modems are listed, exit the server and attempt to reinstall the modem using the Modem Configuration tools supplied by the operating system. 3. Select the modem that will be used with the server project. Then, click Properties to configure the initiating modem's characteristics. Descriptions of the tabs are as follows:
l l

General: This tab is used to specify call and data connection preferences. Advanced: This tab is used to specify terminal window and hardware settings. Note: For more information about recommended settings, refer to the specific driver's help documentation.

4. Once finished, click OK. Then, click OK again to save and exit the Channel Properties.

Using a Modem in Your Application

Once modem operation has been enabled, a list of pre-defined tags will be made available in the driver's Tag Window. These Modem Tags control and monitor an attached modem, and are contained under the channel name (which has become an active OPC Access path through which the Modem Tags are accessed). Because the server knows very little about what the application needs for modem control, it does not imply any type of control. By using the predefined Modem Tags, users can apply the application's scripting capabilities to control how the server uses the selected modem.

Phonebook Tags
A Phonebook Tag can be used in place of specifying a telephone number by directly writing to the Phone Number Tag. A Phonebook Tag can be created on the channel, along with the other modem system tags previously described. The data associated with a Phonebook Tag is a phone number that can be assigned when the tag is created and/or later modified when the server has an active client connection. The phone number stored in a phonebook tag can be used to dial by simply writing anything to the tag. The act of writing will cause the selected Phonebook Tag to dial. Syntax Example: <Channel Name>._Phonebook.<Phonebook Tag Name> Data Type String Privilege Read/Write

Phonebook Tags are entered using the dialog shown below. To add a new Phonebook Tag, click on the New Phonebook icon to display the Phone Number Tags dialog.

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

Modem Auto-Dial
When Modem Auto-Dial has been enabled in the channel, the initial connection request will begin by attempting to dial the first phone number encountered in the phonebook. If that attempt is unsuccessful, the next number in the phonebook will be attempted and so on. This sequence will continue until a modem connection is established or the client releases all references to data that can be supplied by the channel. Note: The phone number order is user-defined. To re-order the phone numbers, simply drag and drop the entries as desired.

Example
A Phonebook Tag name was created for 'Site1.' Syntax Example: <Channel Name>.<Device Name>._Phonebook.Site1 Tag Name <Name of Phone book tag created in Modem Configuration> Description Access

Instead of specifying a telephone number by directly writing to the Phone Number Tag, a Read/Write Phonebook Tag can be used. A Phonebook Tag can be created on the channel, along with the other modem system tags previously described. The data associated with a Phonebook Tag is a phone number that can be assigned when the tag is created and/or later modified when the server has an active client connection. The phone number stored in a Phonebook Tag can be used to dial by simply writing anything to the tag. The act of writing will cause the selected Phonebook Tag to dial.

Phone Number Tags

The Phone Number dialog is used to enter a new Phonebook Tag, which can then be used to dial a desired phone number. Phonebook Tags keep the list in the server, which is useful if the OPC client application cannot store the phone number for a device location. To invoke a Phonebook Tag, the OPC client must write any string value to the desired Phonebook Tag. The phone number dialog should appear as shown below.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:
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Name: This parameter is used to enter the string that will represent the phone number available from the Phonebook Tag. Names can be up to 256 characters in length. Although using descriptive names is generally a good idea, some OPC client applications may have a limited display window when browsing the tag space of an OPC server. The Phonebook Tag name is part of the OPC browse data. Phonebook Tag names must be unique within a given device. Number: This parameter is used to enter the phone number that will be dialed when the tag is invoked from an OPC client application. A string of up to 64 digits can be entered. Description: This parameter is used to attach a comment to this tag. A string of up to 64 characters can be entered.

Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Changes made to Tag Properties will take effect immediately; however, OPC clients that have already connected to this tag will not be affected until they release and reacquire this tag. To prevent operators from changing these parameters use the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features.

Modem Auto-Dial
Modem Auto-Dial (MAD) automates the actions required of a client application when modem use is specified within the server project. These actions (which include phone number assignment, connecting, and disconnecting) must be performed by an external client application through the use of channel-level Modem Tags. For example, in order to begin the process of establishing a connection, the client must write a dial string to "<channel>._Modem._PhoneNumber" and then write a value to "<channel>._Modem._Dial". When data from the remote device is no longer needed, the client must end the call by writing to "<channel>._Modem._Hangup". Modem Auto-Dial relieves the client of these responsibilities by automatically dialing phone numbers defined in the Phonebook when attempting to establish a connection. The connection will be automatically dropped when there are no client references to tags that rely on the modem connection. To access the Modem Auto-Dial settings, click Channel Properties | Modem. For more information, refer to Channel Properties - Modem.

Modem Connection and Disconnection

The process of establishing a modem connection will begin when a client connects to the server Runtime and requests data from a device connection to a channel on which Modem Auto-Dial is enabled. The initial connection request will begin by attempting to dial the first phone number encountered in the phonebook. If that attempt is unsuccessful, the next number in the phonebook will be attempted and so on. This sequence will continue until a modem connection is established or the client releases all references to data that can be supplied by the channel. Note: When re-establishing a connection, the phonebook entry that last produced a successful connection will be used. If no previous phonebook entry was successful (or if the entry has since been deleted), the userdefined sequence of phone numbers will be used. The number used for re-dialing will not be preserved during server re-initialization or restart. See Also: Phonebook Tags

Timing
Timing settings (such as how long to wait for a connection before proceeding to the next phone number) are determined by the TAPI modem configuration and not by any specific Modem Auto-Dial setting. Note: Some drivers do not allow the serial port to close once it has opened. Connections established using these drivers will not experience disconnection until all client references have been released (that is, unless the TAPI settings are configured to disconnect after a period of idle time).

Client Access
Modem Tags may still be used to exert client-level control over the modem. If Modem Auto-Dialing is enabled, however, Write access to the Modem Tags will be restricted so that only one form of access is possible. The Modem Tags' values will be updated just as they would if the client were in control of the modem.

Changing the Modem Auto-Dial Settings from the Configuration

The Runtime will react to settings changes according to the following rules:
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If MAD is enabled after the client has already dialed the modem and established a connection, the change will be ignored until the modem is disconnected. If the client is still requesting data from the channel at the time of disconnection, the initial connection sequence will begin.

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If MAD is enabled while no modem connection exists and data is being requested from the channel by the client, the initial connection sequence will begin. If MAD is disabled while an existing auto-dial connection exists, no action will be taken and the connection will be dropped. If all entries are deleted from the phonebook, MAD will be disabled.

See Also: Channel Properties - Modem

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When communications problems occur, users can utilize both OPC and channel diagnostics to help determine the cause of the issue. These views provide diagnostics on both the server-level and driver-level. Since they may affect performance, users should only utilize diagnostics when debugging or trouble-shooting. For more information, select a link from the list below. OPC Diagnostics Window Channel Diagnostics

OPC Diagnostic Window

The OPC Diagnostics Window provides both a real-time and historical view of OPC events occurring between an OPC client and the server. An event is a method call that a client makes to the server, or a callback that the server makes to a client. This window is separate from the main server configuration window (which can be used to hide the diagnostics window even while events are being captured). To access the OPC Diagnostics Window, click View | OPC Diagnostics. The OPCDiagnostics Window captures events and details that are specific to the OPC Data Access 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 Custom Specifications. For more information on the data presented in this window, refer to those specifications. Copies of these specifications can be found on the OPC Foundation website www.opcfoundation.org.

Note: The OPC Diagnostic information will be saved to the installation directory beneath the file name "autosave.opcdiag". The file is only created on shutdown.

OPC Diagnostic Features

Find This dialog searches the Diagnostics View for key information transferred between the client and server. For example, this search functionality can be used to find all actions on a particular Item ID or group name.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Find What: This field specifies the search criteria. Match Case: When checked, the search criteria will be case-sensitive. Search Details: When checked, the search criteria will include details.

Note: When an event or detail with the specified text is found, the line containing the text will be highlighted. To perform a Find Next operation (and look for the next occurrence of the specified text), press "F3". When the last occurrence is found, a message box will be displayed indicating this condition. Users can change the search criteria at any time by pressing "Ctrl+F". Filter This dialog selects which events will be captured, thus eliminating events that do not apply. For example, most clients will make continuous GetStatus calls into the server to determine whether the server is still available. By filtering this event, users can just examine the diagnostics data. Each method (such as "IOPCCommon" or "GetErrorString") of every OPC Data Access 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 interface that is supported by the server is available as a filter. To select a method, click the checkbox to the left of the method name. To select all methods, double-click the interface name. By default, all methods for all interfaces are selected. For more information, refer to OPCDiagnostic Events.

Note: Filter changes only apply to newly captured events. Previous events that meet the filter criteria will not be removed from the view. Options

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This dialog controls specific functionalities that are built into the OPC Diagnostics feature.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Ask to stop diagnostics when closing the viewer: When checked, this option will ask whether to stop diagnostics when the OPCDiagnostics View is closed. The default setting is checked. Preserve diagnostics to disk on shutdown: When checked, the OPC diagnostic information will persist to disk when the server is shutdown. This is useful for situations in which users must go back in time to determine when a particular issue occurred. The default setting is checked. Note: Users can create a backup of the diagnostics data at any time by clicking File | Save As.

Maximum number of diagnostics to capture: This parameter specifies the maximum number of OPC diagnostic events that should be captured at any specific time. This value only pertains to the number of events and does not include the number of details (since the detail count for a particular event has the potential to be very high). The valid range is 1000 to 30000. The default setting is 5000.

Note: Users must remember that the server's performance will be affected when diagnostic information is captured (because it is an additional layer of processing that occurs between the client/server communications).

OPC Diagnostic Events

For more information on a specific OPC Diagnostic Event, select a link from the list below. IClassFactory Server IOPCCommon IOPCServer IConnectionPointContainer (Server) IConnectionPoint (Server) IOPCBrowse IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace IOPCItemProperties IOPCItemIO Group IOPCGroupStateMgt IOPCGroupStateMgt2 IOPCItemMgt IOPCItemDeadbandMgt IOPCItemSamplingMgt IOPCSyncIO IOPCSyncIO2 IOPCAsyncIO IDataObject IAdviseSink IAsyncIO2 IAsyncIO3 IConnectionPointContainer (Group) IConnectionPoint (Group) IOPCDataCallback IEnumOPCItemAttributes

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IClassFactory
The IClassFactory interface contains several methods intended to deal with an entire class of objects. It is implemented on the class object for a specific class of objects and is identified by a CLSID.
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QueryInterface: The client can ask the object whether it supports any outgoing interfaces by calling QueryInterface for IConnectionPointContainer. If the object answers "yes" by handing back a valid pointer, the client knows it can attempt to establish a connection. AddRef: Increments the reference count for an interface on an object. It should be called for every new copy of a pointer to an interface on a given object. Release: Decreases the reference count of the interface by 1. CreateInstance: Creates an uninitialized object. LockServer: Allows instances to be created quickly when called by the client of a class object to keep a server open in memory.

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Server
The client calls CoCreateInstance to create the server object and the initial interface.
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QueryInterface: The client can ask the object whether it supports any outgoing interfaces by calling QueryInterface for IConnectionPointContainer. If the object answers "yes" by handing back a valid pointer, the client knows it can attempt to establish a connection. AddRef: Increments the reference count for an interface on an object. It should be called for every new copy of a pointer to an interface on a given object. Release: Decreases the reference count of the interface by 1.

IOPCCommon
This interface is used by all OPC Server types (DataAccess, Alarm&Event, Historical Data and so forth). It provides the ability to set and query a Locale ID which would be in effect for the particular client/server session. The actions of one client will not affect other clients.
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GetErrorString: Returns the error string for a server specific error code. The expected behavior is that this will include handling of Win32 errors as well (such as RPC errors). GetLocaleID: Returns the default Locale ID for this server/client session. QueryAvailableLocaleIDs: Returns the available Locale IDs for this server/client session. SetClientName: Allows the client to optionally register a client name with the server. This is included primarily for debugging purposes. The recommended behavior is that users set the Node name and EXE name here. SetLocaleID: Sets the default Locale ID for this server/client session. This Locale ID will be used by the GetErrorString method on this interface. The default value for the server should be LOCALE_SYSTEM_ DEFAULT.

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IOPCServer
This is an OPC server's main interface. The OPC server is registered with the operating system as specified in the Installation and Registration Chapter of this specification.
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AddGroup: Adds a Group to a Server. A Group is a logical container for a client to organize and manipulate data items. CreateGroupEnumerator: Creates various enumerators for the groups provided by the Server. GetErrorString: Returns the error string for a server specific error code. GetGroupByName: Returns an additional interface pointer when given the name of a private group (created earlier by the same client). Use GetPublicGroupByName to attach to public groups. This function can be used to reconnect to a private group for which all interface pointers have been released. GetStatus: Returns current status information for the server. RemoveGroup: Deletes the Group. A group is not deleted when all the client interfaces are released, since the server itself maintains a reference to the group. The client may still call GetGroupByName after all the interfaces have been released. RemoveGroup() causes the server to release it's 'last' reference to the group, which results in the group being deleted.

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IConnectionPointContainer (Server)
This interface provides the access to the connection point for IOPCShutdown.

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EnumConnectionPoints: Creates an enumerator for the connection points supported between the OPC Group and the Client. OPCServers must return an enumerator that includes IOPCShutdown. Additional vendor specific callbacks are allowed. FindConnectionPoint: Finds a particular connection point between the OPC Server and the Client. OPCServers must support IID_IOPCShutdown. Additional vendor specific callbacks are allowed.

IConnectionPoint (Server)
This interface establishes a call back to the client.
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Advise: Establishes an advisory connection between the connection point and the caller's sink object. EnumConnections: Creates an enumerator object for iteration through the connections that exist to this connection point. GetConnectionInterface: Returns the IID of the outgoing interface managed by this connection point. GetConnectionPointContainer: Retrieves the IConnectionPointContainer interface pointer to the connectable object that conceptually owns the connection point. Unadvise: Terminates an advisory connection previously established through the Advise method. ShutdownRequest: Allows the server to request that all clients disconnect from the server.

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IOPCBrowse
IOPCBrowse interface provides improved methods for browsing the server address space and for obtaining the item properties.
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GetProperties: Returns an array of OPCITEMPROPERTIES, one for each Item ID. Browse: Browses a single branch of the address space and returns zero or more OPCBROWSEELEMENT structures.

IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace
This interface provides a way for clients to browse the available data items in the server, giving the user a list of the valid definitions for an Item ID. It allows for either flat or hierarchical address spaces and is designed to work well over a network. It also insulates the client from the syntax of a server vendor specific Item ID.
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BrowseAccessPaths: Provides a way to browse the available AccessPaths for an Item ID. BrowseOPCItemIDs: Returns an IENUMString for a list of Item IDs as determined by the passed parameters. The position from which the browse is made can be set in ChangeBrowsePosition. ChangeBrowserPosition: Provides a way to move up, down or to in a hierarchical space. GetItemID: Provides a way to assemble a fully qualified Item ID in a hierarchical space. This is required since the browsing functions return only the components or tokens that make up an Item ID and do not return the delimiters used to separate those tokens. Also, at each point one is browsing just the names below the current node (e.g. the units in a cell). QueryOrganization: Provides a way to determine if the underlying system is inherently flat or hierarchical and how the server may represent the information of the address space to the client. Flat and hierarchical spaces behave somewhat different. If the result is flat then the client knows that there is no need to pass the Branch or Leaf flags to BrowseOPCItem IDs or to call ChangeBrowsePosition.

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IOPCItemProperties
This interface can be used to browse the available properties associated with an Item ID as well as to Read the properties' current values.
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GetItemProperties: Returns a list of the current data values for the passed ID codes. LookUpItemIDs: Returns a list of Item IDs for each of the passed ID codes if any are available. These indicate the Item ID which could be added to an OPCGroup and used for more efficient access to the data corresponding to the Item Properties. QueryAvailableProperties: Returns a list of ID codes and descriptions for the available properties for this Item ID. This list may differ for different Item IDs. This list is expected to be relatively stable for a particular Item ID, although it could be affected from time to time by changes to the underlying system's configuration. The Item ID is passed to this function because servers are allowed to return different sets of properties for different Item IDs.

IOPCItemIO
The purpose of this interface is to provide an extremely easy way for simple applications to obtain OPC data.

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Read: Reads one or more values, qualities and timestamps for the items specified. This is functionally similar to the IOPCSyncIO::Read method. WriteVQT: Writes one or more values, qualities and timestamps for the items specified. This is functionally similar to the IOPCSyncIO2::WriteVQT except that there is no associated group. If a client attempts to write VQ, VT, or VQT it should expect that the server will Write them all or none at all.

Group
The client calls CoCreateInstance to create the Server object and the initial interface.
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QueryInterface: The client can ask the object whether it supports any outgoing interfaces by calling QueryInterface for IConnectionPointContainer. If the object answers "yes" by handing back a valid pointer, the client knows it can attempt to establish a connection. AddRef: Increments the reference count for an interface on an object. It should be called for every new copy of a pointer to an interface on a given object. Release: Decreases the reference count of the interface by 1.

IOPCGroupStateMgt
IOPCGroupStateMgt allows the client to manage the overall state of the group. Primarily, this accounts for changes made to the group's update rate and active state.
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CloneGroup: Creates a second copy of a group with a unique name. GetState: Gets the current state of the group. This function is typically called to obtain the current values of this information prior to calling SetState. This information was all supplied by or returned to the client when the group was created. SetName: Changes the name of a private group. The name must be unique. The name cannot be changed for public groups. Group names are required to be unique with respect to an individual client to server connection. SetState: Sets various properties of the group. This represents a new group which is independent of the original group.

IOPCGroupStateMgt2
This interface was added to enhance the existing IOPCGroupStateMgt interface.
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SetKeepAlive: Causes the server to provide client callbacks on the subscription when there are no new events to report. Clients can then be assured of the health of the server and subscription without resorting to pinging the server with calls to GetStatus(). GetKeepAlive: Returns the currently active keep-alive time for the subscription.

IOPCItemMgt
This interface allows a client to add, remove and control the behavior of items is a group.
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AddItems: Adds one or more items to a group. It is acceptable to add the same item to the group more than once, thus generating a second item with a unique ServerHandle. CreateEnumerator: Creates an enumerator for the items in the group. RemoveItems: Removes items from a group. Removing items from a group does not affect the address space of the server or physical Device. It simply indicates whether or not the client is interested in those particular items. SetActiveState: Sets one or more items in a group to active or inactive. This controls whether or not valid data can be obtained from Read cache for those items and whether or not they are included in the IAdvise subscription to the group. Deactivating items will not result in a callback, since by definition callbacks do not occur for inactive items. Activating items will generally result in an IAdvise callback at the next UpdateRate period. SetClientHandles: Changes the client handle for one or more items in a group. In general, it is expected that clients will set the client handle when the item is added and not change it later. SetDataTypes: Changes the requested data type for one or more items in a group. In general, it is expected that clients will set the requested datatype when the item is added and not change it later. ValidateItems: Determines if an item is valid and could be added without error. It also returns information about the item such as canonical datatype. It does not affect the group in any way.

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IOPCItemDeadbandMgt
Force a callback to IOPCDataCallback::OnDataChange for all active items in the group, whether they have changed or not. Inactive items are not included in the callback. The MaxAge value will determine where the data

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is obtained. There will be only one MaxAge value, which will determine the MaxAge for all active items in the group. This means some of the values may be obtained from cache while others could be obtained from the Device depending on the "freshness" of the data in the cache.
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SetItemDeadband: Overrides the deadband specified for the group for each item. GetItemDeadband: Gets the deadband values for each of the requested items. ClearItemDeadband: Clears the individual item PercentDeadband, effectively reverting them back to the deadband value set in the group.

IOPCItemSamplingMgt
This optional interface allows the client to manipulate the rate at which individual items within a group are obtained from the underlying Device. It does not affect the group update rate of the callbacks for OnDataChange.
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SetItemSamplingRate: Sets the sampling rate on individual items. This overrides the update rate of the group as far as collection from the underlying Device is concerned. The update rate associated with individual items does not affect the callback period. GetItemSamplingRate: Gets the sampling rate on individual items, which was previously set with SetItemSamplingRate. ClearItemSamplngRate: Clears the sampling rate on individual items, which was previously set with SetItemSamplingRate. The item will revert back to the update rate of the group. SetItemBufferEnable: Requests that the server turns on or off, depending on the value of the bEnable parameter, the buffering of data for the identified items, which are collected for items that have an update rate faster than the group update rate. GetItemBufferEnable: Queries the current state of the servers buffering for requested items.

IOPCSyncIO
IOPCSyncIO allows a client to perform synchronous Read and Write operations to a server. The operations will run to completion.
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Read: Reads the value, quality and timestamp information for one or more items in a group. The function runs to completion before returning. The data can be read from cache in which case it should be accurate to within the 'UpdateRate' and percent deadband of the group. The data can be read from the Device, in which case an actual Read of the physical Device must be performed. The exact implementation of cache and Device Reads is not defined by the specification. Write: Writes values to one or more items in a group. The function runs to completion. The values are written to the Device, meaning that the function should not return until it verifies that the Device has actually accepted or rejected the data. Writes are not affected by the active state of the group or item.

IOPCSyncIO2
This interface was added to enhance the existing IOPCSyncIO interface.
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ReadMaxAge: Reads one or more values, qualities and timestamps for the items specified. This is functionally similar to the OPCSyncIO::Read method except no source is specified (Device or cache). The server will make the determination as whether the information will be obtained from the Device or cache. This decision will be based upon the MaxAge parameter. If the information in the cache is within the MaxAge, then the data will be obtained from the cache, otherwise the server must access the Device for the requested information. WriteVQT: Writes one or more values, qualities and timestamps for the items specified. This is functionally similar to the IOPCSyncIO::Write except that Quality and Timestamp may be written. If a client attempts to write VQ, VT or VQT it should expect that the server will Write to all or none.

IOPCAsyncIO
IOPCAsyncIO allows a client to perform asynchronous Read and Write operations to a server. The operations will be 'queued' and the function will return immediately so that the client can continue to run. Each operation is treated as a 'transaction' and is associated with a Transaction ID. As the operations are completed, a callback will be made to the IAdvise Sink in the client (if one has been established). The information in the callback will indicate the Transaction ID and the error results. By convention, 0 is an invalid Transaction ID.
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Cancel: Requests that the server cancel an outstanding transaction. Read: Reads one or more items in a group. The results are returned via the IAdvise Sink connection established through the IDataObject. For cache Reads the data is only valid if both the group and the item are active. Device Reads are not affected by the active state of the group or item.

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Refresh: Forces a callback for all active items in the group, whether they have changed or not. Inactive items are not included in the callback. Write: Writes one or more items in a group. The results are returned via the IAdviseSink connection established through the IDataObject.

IDataObject
IDataObject is implemented on the OPCGroup rather than on the individual items. This allows the creation of an Advise connection between the client and the group using the OPC Data Stream Formats for the efficient data transfer.
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DAdvise: Creates a connection for a particular 'stream' format between the OPC Group and the Client. DUnadvise: Terminates a connection between the OPC Group and the Client.

IAdviseSink
The client only has to provide a full implementation of OnDataChange.
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OnDataChange: This method is provided by the client to handle notifications from the OPC Group for exception based data changes, Async Reads and Refreshes and Async Write Complete.

IAsyncIO2
This interface is similar to IOPCAsync(OPC 1.0) and is intended to replace IOPCAsyncIO. It was added in OPC 2.05.
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Cancel2: Requests that the server cancel an outstanding transaction. GetEnable: Retrieves the last Callback Enable value set with SetEnable. Read: Reads one or more items in a group. The results are returned via the client's IOPCDataCallback connection established through the server's IConnectionPointContainer. Reads are from 'Device' and are not affected by the active state of the group or item. Refresh2: Forces a callback to IOPCDataCallback::OnDataChange for all active items in the group, whether they have changed or not. Inactive items are not included in the callback. SetEnable: Controls the operation of OnDataChange. Setting Enable to False will disable any OnDataChange callbacks with a transaction ID of 0 (which are not the result of a Refresh). The initial value of this variable when the group is created is True; thus, OnDataChange callbacks are enabled by default. Write: Writes one or more items in a group. The results are returned via the client's IOPCDataCallback connection established through the server's IConnectionPointContainer.

IAsyncIO3
This interface was added to enhance the existing IOPCAsyncIO2 interface.
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ReadMaxAge: Reads one or more values, qualities and timestamps for the items specified. This is functionally similar to the OPCSyncIO::Read method except it is asynchronous and no source is specified (Device or cache). The server will make the determination as whether the information will be obtained from the Device or cache. This decision will be based upon the MaxAge parameter. If the information in the cache is within the MaxAge, then the data will be obtained from the cache; otherwise, the server must access the Device for the requested information. WriteVQT: Writes one or more values, qualities and timestamps for the items specified. The results are returned via the client's IOPCDataCallback connection established through the server's IConnectionPointContainer. This is functionally similar to the IOPCAsyncIO2::Write except that Quality and Timestamp may be written. If a client attempts to write VQ, VT or VQT it should expect that the server will Write them all or none at all. RefreshMaxAge: Forces a callback to IOPCDataCallback::OnDataChange for all active items in the group, whether or not they have changed. Inactive items are not included in the callback. The MaxAge value determines where the data is obtained. There will be only one MaxAge value, which determines the MaxAge for all active items in the group. This means some of the values may be obtained from cache while others can be obtained from the Device, depending on the type of the data in the cache.

IConnectionPointContainer (Group)
This interface provides functionality similar to the IDataObject but is easier to implement and to understand. It also provides the functionality missing from the IDataObject Interface. The client must use the new IOPCAsyncIO2 interface to communicate via connections established with this interface. The 'old' IOPCAsnyc will continue to communicate via IDataObject connections as in the past.

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EnumConnectionPoints: Creates an enumerator for the Connection Points supported between the OPC Group and the Client. FindConnectionPoint: Finds a particular connection point between the OPC Group and the Client.

IConnectionPoint (Group)
This interface establishes a call back to the client.
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Advise: Establishes an advisory connection between the connection point and the caller's sink object. EnumConnections: Creates an enumerator object for iteration through the connections that exist to this connection point. GetConnectionInterface: Returns the IID of the outgoing interface managed by this connection point. GetConnectionPointContainer: Retrieves the IConnectionPointContainer interface pointer to the connectable object that conceptually owns the connection point. Unadvise: Terminates an advisory connection previously established through the Advise method.

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IOPCDataCallback
In order to use connection points, the client must create an object that supports both the IUnknown and IOPCDataCallback Interface.
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OnDataChange: This method is provided by the client to handle notifications from the OPC Group for exception based data changes and Refreshes. OnReadComplete: This method is provided by the client to handle notifications from the OPC Group on completion of Async Reads. OnWriteComplete: This method is provided by the client to handle notifications from the OPC Group on completion of AsyncIO2 Writes. OnCancelComplete: This method is provided by the client to handle notifications from the OPC Group on completion of Async Cancel.

IEnumOPCItemAttributes
IEnumOPCItemAttributes allows clients to find out the contents of a group and the attributes of those items. Most of the returned information is either supplied by or returned to the client at the time it called AddItem.
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Clone: Creates a second copy of the enumerator. The new enumerator is initially in the same state as the current enumerator. Next: Fetches the next 'celt' items from the group. Reset: Resets the enumerator back to the first item. Skip: Skips over the next 'celt' attributes.

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Important: For more information on the general principles of Connection points, refer to Microsoft documentation.

Channel Diagnostics
The server's diagnostic features provide real-time information on the communication driver's performance. All Read and Write operations can either be viewed in the Diagnostics Window or tracked directly in the OPC client application with built-in Diagnostics Tags. The Diagnostic Window also provides a real-time protocol view, which is useful when making changes to key communication parameter settings (such as baud rate, parity, or Device IDs). Effects of the changes will be displayed in real-time. Once the correct communication and device settings are set, the data exchange with the device will be visible. To access the Diagnostic Controls, right-click in the window's protocol view.

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Note: The Diagnostic Window operates in a modeless form that allows it to exist while other dialogs in the server are open.

Diagnostic Controls
Descriptions of the controls are as follows:
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Pause: This control captures and freezes the protocol data in the Diagnostics Window. The Diagnostics Tags will continue to be updated. Reset: This control clears the contents of the protocol view. It does not affect the Diagnostics Tags. Mode: This control displays the protocol information in a pure Hex representation (Hex Mode) or in a mixture of ASCII and Hex representation (Mix Mode). Depending on the target device's nature, the Mode selection may need to be changed to provide the best view of the protocol. Auto Pause on Failure: This function causes the protocol view's capture buffer to stop whenever either a Read or Write error occurs. The default setting is off. In this case, the protocol capture will run in continuous mode. Auto Pause is helpful when capturing intermittent communications issues.

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Using the Diagnostic Window

Before attempting to use the Diagnostic Window, users should ensure that diagnostic functions have been enabled in Channel Properties. Then, click View | Diagnostics and select Channel. Once the diagnostic menu is displayed, it will begin capturing the real-time protocol data. If communications are occurring properly, there will be a stream of communications messages between the server and the device. Both the two-color scheme of the protocol window and the current counts of the Diagnostics Tags will show users that it is working properly. If communications do not appear to be working normally, users can access the Channel Properties and modify the communications parameters. The Diagnostic Window will remain displayed even after the Channel Properties are displayed, thus allowing users to change the parameters and monitor their effect. The Diagnostic Window must be displayed before any parameter dialogs are accessed. If a communications problem persists, right-click in the Diagnostic Window to invoke the context menu. Then, use the available selections to tailor the Diagnostic Window's operation.

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Descriptions of the options are as follows:

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Copy to Clipboard: This option formats the protocol capture buffer's contents as text for easy "cut and paste" into an email or fax message. This information helps Technical Support analyze and diagnose many communications issues. Save as Text File: This option saves the protocol view's current contents directly to a text file. Auto Scroll: This option ensures that the protocol view will automatically scroll to the next line as new protocol data is received. Always on Top: This option forces the Diagnostics Window to remain on the top of all other application windows. This is the default setting. Options: This option is used to select a buffer size for the protocol capture buffer, set the font and size used by the protocol view, and also assign unique colors to both the transmit and receive data streams.

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Diagnostic Options
Buffer Size This tab is used to select a capture buffer of 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, or 65536 bytes. Depending on the device's speed, a larger buffer size may be needed to capture protocol related issues effectively.

Display This tab is used to tailor the protocol view's appearance. The Background, TX Characters, and RX Characters color selections can be selected from a palette of 16 colors. Each selection must be unique. Users can also select the font and font size that will used by the protocol view. Note: When selecting a font, keep in mind that it can affect the update speed if the size is set too large. Larger font sizes also prevent users from being able to see a usable amount of the protocol.

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KEPServerEX V5 Help Basic Server Components

For more information on a specific server component, select a link from the list below. What What What What What What is is is is is is a Channel? a Device? a Tag? a Tag Group? the Alias Map? the Event Log?

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What is a Channel?
Channel Functions
A channel represents a communication medium from the PC to one or more external devices. A channel can be used to represent a serial port, a card installed in the PC or an Ethernet socket. Before adding devices to a project, users must define the channel that will be used when communicating with devices. A channel and a device driver are closely tied. After creating a channel, only devices that the selected driver supports can be added to this channel.

Adding a Channel
Channels are added using the Channel Wizard, which guide users through the channel definition process. To start, users will be prompted for a logical name to assign the channel. This name must be unique among all channels and devices defined in the project. Next, users will be prompted for the device driver that will be used. A list box is presented that displays all of the device drivers currently installed in the system. All serial drivers can be used with multiple channels in the same project. Note: For hardware card drivers, refer to the driver's help documentation the determine the ability to use with multiple channels in a single project. For information on how to determine the number of supported channels, refer to Server Summary Information. Users will then be prompted for the specific communication parameters to be used. Multiple channels cannot share identical communication parameters; for example, two serial drivers cannot use COM1. For the correct communication parameters of a particular device, refer to both the manufacturer's and the driver's help documentation. Note: Flow Control settings for serial drivers are primarily used when connecting RS422/485 network devices to the RS232 serial port via a converter. Most RS232 to RS422/485 converters require either no flow control (None) or that the RTS line be on when the PC is transmitting and off when listening (RTS). The Channel Wizard will finish with a summary of the new channel.

Removing a Channel
To remove a channel from the project, select the desired channel and then press the Delete key. Alternatively, select Edit | Delete from the Edit menu or toolbar.

Displaying Channel Properties

To display the Channel Properties of a specific channel, select the channel and then click Edit | Properties from the Edit menu or toolbar. See Also: Channel Properties - General

Channel Properties - General

Each protocol or driver used in a server project is called a channel, which refers to a specific communications driver. A server project can consist of many channels that have unique communications drivers or with the same communications driver. In a server application, every channel name must be unique. Although names can be up to 256 characters long, some OPC client applications may have a limited display window when browsing the tag space of an OPC server. The channel name entered will be part of the OPC browser information.

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Checking the Enable Diagnostics check box will make the channel's diagnostic information available to the OPC application. With diagnostic functions enabled, Diagnostic Tags and the OPC Diagnostic Window can be used within client applications. Because the server's diagnostic features require a minimal amount of overhead processing, it is recommended that users only utilize them when they are needed and disable them when they are not. This is the default condition. Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. This includes changing the channel name in order to prevent clients from registering data with the server. If a client has already acquired an item from the server before the channel name is changed, the items will be unaffected. If, after the channel name has been changed, the client application releases the item and attempts to re-acquire using the old channel name, the item will not be accepted. With this in mind, changes to the parameters should not be made once a large client application has been developed. Utilize the User Manager to prevent operators from changing parameters and restrict access rights to server features.

Channel Properties - Communications

The Communications tab will vary depending on the driver that has been selected. If a serial driver has been selected, the dialog should appear as shown below.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Connection Type: This parameter specifies the connection type. Options include COMPort, None, Modem, and Ethernet Encapsulation. The default setting is COMPort. COM ID: This parameter specifies the Communications ID that will be used when communicating with devices assigned to the channel. The valid range is 1 to 256. Baud Rate: This parameter specifies the baud rate that should be used to configure the selected Communications port. Data Bits: This parameter specifies the number of data bits per data word. Options include 5, 6, 7, or 8. Parity: This parameter specifies the type of parity the data should use. Options include Odd, Even, or None. Stop Bits: This parameter specifies the number of stop bits per data word. Options include 1 or 2. Flow Control: This parameter determines how the RTS and DTR control lines should be utilized. For more information, refer to "Flow Control RTS&DTR" below. Report Comm. Errors: This option turns the reporting of low-level communications errors on or off. When enabled, low-level errors (such as parity, framing, and overrun errors) will be posted to the Event Log when they occur. When disabled, these same errors will not be posted even though normal request failures will. Close connection when no longer needed after __ seconds of idle time: When checked, this parameter closes the COM port if there are no longer any tags being referenced by a client on the channel. The idle time defines the amount of time that the server will wait once all tags have been removed before closing the COM port. The default value is 15 seconds. The default setting is checked.

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Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time (including communications port, baud rate and so forth). Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing the parameters. Changes made to these parameters can temporarily disrupt communications.

Flow Control RTS & DTR

Flow control may be required in order to communicate with a specific serial device. Descriptions of the options are as follows:

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None: This option does not toggle or assert control lines. DTR: This option asserts the DTR line when the communications port is opened and remains on. RTS: This option specifies that the RTS line will be high if bytes are available for transmission. After all buffered bytes have been sent, the RTS line will be low. This is normally used with RS232/RS485 converter hardware. RTS, DTR: This option is a combination of DTR and RTS as described above. RTS Always: This option asserts the RTS line when the communication port is opened and remains on. RTS Manual: This option asserts the RTS line based on the timing parameters entered for Manual RTS Control.

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Note: When using 2 wire RS485, "echoes" may occur on the communication lines. Since this communication server's serial drivers do not support echo suppression, it is recommended that the proper RS-485 converter be used in order to avoid issues with echo.

Channel Properties - Network Interface

With Ethernet Encapsulation, virtually all drivers currently available support some form of Ethernet communications. Some form of a network interface will be used, whether for a natively Ethernet-based driver or a serial driver configured for Ethernet Encapsulation. In most cases, that interface takes the form of a Network Interface Card (NIC). For a PC that has networking installed, this usually means that a single NIC will be installed that provides a connection to either the IT or plant floor network (or both). This configuration works well for typical network configurations and loading. Problems may arise if data needs to be received from an Ethernet device at a regular interval, however. If the plant floor network is mixed with the IT network, a large batch file transfer could completely disrupt the interval of the plant floor data. The most common way to deal with this issue is to install a second NIC in the PC. One NIC can be used for accessing the IT network while the other NIC accesses the plant floor data. Although this may sound reasonable, simple problems may occur when trying to separate the networks. When using multiple NICs, users must determine the bind order. The bind order determines what NIC is used to access different portions of the Ethernet network. In many cases, bind settings can be easily managed using the operating system's tools. When there is a clear separation between the types of protocols and services that will be used on each NIC card, the bind order can be created by the operating system. If there isn't a clear way to select a specific bind order, users may find that the Ethernet device connection is being routed to the wrong network. In this case, the Network Interface shown below can be used to select a specific NIC card to use with the Ethernet driver. The Network Interface selection can be used to select a specific NIC card based on either the NIC name or its currently assigned IP address. This list of available NICs will include either unique NIC cards or NICs that have multiple IP assigned to them. The selection will also display any WAN connections are active (such as a dialup connection).

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By selecting a specific NIC interface, users can force the driver to send all Ethernet communication through the specified NIC. When a NIC is selected, the normal operating system bind order will be bypassed completely. This ensures that users have control over how the network operates and eliminates any guesswork. The selections displayed in the Network Adapter drop-down menu depend on the network configuration settings, the number of unique NICs installed in the PC, and the number of unique IPs assigned to the NICs. To force the operating system to create the bind order selection, select Default as the network adapter. This allows the driver to use the operating system's normal bind order to set the NIC. Important: If unsure of which NIC to use, select the Default condition. If an Ethernet-based device is being used and this feature is exposed through a product upgrade, select the Default condition. Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing the parameters. Keep in mind that changes made to this parameter can temporarily disrupt communications.

Channel Properties - RTS Line Control

The Flow Control selection of RTS Line allows the server to control the operation of the RTS line for use with external devices (such as radio modems) that require additional timing to properly initiate communications.

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For those drivers that support it, the RTS Line selection contains three timing parameters. Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:
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Raise the RTS line: This parameter specifies how long the RTS line will be high before any data is transmitted from the communications port. The valid range is 0 to 2550 milliseconds. The default setting is 10 milliseconds. Drop the RTS line: This parameter specifies how long the RTS line will be held high after any data is transmitted from the communications port. The valid range is 0 to 2550 milliseconds. The default setting is 10 milliseconds. Poll Delay: This parameter specifies a delay to be introduced between each communication request. Some radio modems need a defined amount of settling time before the next transmission can occur. The Poll Delay is used to configure that delay. The valid range is 0 to 2550 milliseconds. The default setting is 10 milliseconds.

Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to specific server features in order to prevent operators from changing the parameters.

Channel Properties - Modem

This dialog is used to specify the modem and its associated settings for use on the channel.For more information on modem configuration, refer to Using a Modem in the Server Project.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Modem: This field lists the modems that are currently configured for the PC. Dialing: When clicked, this button invokes the Location Information Wizard, which is used to specify information on the user's current location. Properties: When clicked, this button invokes the properties of the selected modem. Phonebook: When clicked, this button invokes the Phonebook dialog and is used to enter phone numbers. Users can also establish a list of phone numbers that can be seen as tags from the client application. For more information, refer to Phonebook Tags. Note: The order of phone numbers specified in this dialog will be the order of numbers dialed during the Modem Auto-Dial initial connection request.

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Wait __ sec to connect before failing a R/W: This parameter specifies the amount of time to wait for a modem connection to be established before the driver begins invalidating tags and failing writes. The default setting is 60 seconds. Auto-dial numbers from the phonebook: When checked, this option will enable Modem Auto-Dialing. The default setting is disabled. For more information, refer to Modem Auto-Dial. Note: If this checkbox is enabled before an entry is added to the phonebook, the Phonebook dialog will be invoked. If the phonebook is still empty by the time that the changes are applied to the page, auto-dial mode will be disabled.

Note 1: The Modem Auto-Dial settings will only be enabled when modem-use is selected for a channel. For more information, refer to Modem Auto-Dial. Note 2: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing parameters.

Channel Properties - Write Optimizations

As with any OPC server, writing data to the device may be the application's most important aspect. The server intends to ensure that the data written from the OPC client application gets to the device on time. Given this goal, the server provides a number of optimization settings that can be used to meet specific needs and improve the application's responsiveness.

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Optimization Method

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The Write Optimization dialog controls how Write data is passed to the underlying communications driver. It also adjusts the ratio at which Writes will be processed and sent to the device.

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Write all values for all tags: This option forces the server to attempt to Write every value to the controller. In this mode, the server continues to gather OPC Write requests and add them to the server's internal Write queue. Then, the server processes the Write queue and attempts to empty it by writing data to the device as quickly as possible. This mode ensures that everything written from the OPC client applications will be sent to the target device. This mode should be selected if the Write operations's order or the Write item's content must uniquely be seen at the target device. Write only latest value for non-Boolean tags: Many consecutive Writes to the same value can accumulate in the Write queue due to the time required to actually send the data to the device. If the server updates a Write value that has already been placed in the Write queue, far fewer Writes will be needed to reach the same final output value. In this way, no extra Writes accumulate in the server's queue. When the user stops moving the slide switch, the value in the device is at the correct value at virtually the same time. This is the mode of operation that the second Write optimization mode, 'Write only latest value for non-Boolean tags,' allows. As the mode states, any value that is not a Boolean value will be updated in the server's internal Write queue and will then be sent to the device at the next possible opportunity. This can greatly improve the application's overall performance. Note: This option does not attempt to optimize Writes to Boolean values. It allows users to optimize the operation of HMI data (such as the slide switch example) without causing problems with Boolean operations like a momentary push button.

Write only the latest value for all tags: This option takes the theory behind the second optimization mode and applies it to all tags. It is especially useful if the application only needs to send the latest value to the device. This mode optimizes all Writes by updating the tags currently in the Write queue before they are sent. This is the default mode.

Duty Cycle
The Duty Cycle selection is used to control the ratio of Write operations to Read operations. The ratio is always based on one Read for every one to ten Writes. The duty cycle is set to ten by default, meaning that ten Writes will occur for each Read operation. Although the application is doing a large number of continuous Writes, it must be ensured that Read data is still given time to process. A setting of one will result in one Read operation for every Write operation. If there are no Write operations to perform, Reads will be processed continuously.

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Note: It is recommended that the application be characterized for compatibility with the Write optimization enhancements before being used in a production environment.

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Channel Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation

Ethernet Encapsulation mode provides communication with serial devices connected to terminal servers on the Ethernet network. A terminal server is essentially a virtual serial port, and it converts TCP/IP messages on the Ethernet network to serial data. Once the message has been converted to a serial, users can connect standard devices that support serial communications to the terminal server. For more information, refer to How Do I.... Ethernet Encapsulation can be used over wireless network connections (such as 802.11b and CDPD packet networks) and has also been developed to support a wide range of serial devices. With a terminal server device, users can place RS-232 and RS-485 devices throughout the plant operations while still allowing a single localized PC to access the remotely mounted devices. Ethernet Encapsulation also allows an individual Network IP address to be assigned to device as needed. Multiple terminal servers provides users access to hundreds of serial devices from a single PC.

Configuring Ethernet Encapsulation Mode

To use Ethernet Encapsulation, click the Use Ethernet Encapsulation checkbox in Communications Parameters. This may be completed through the Channel Wizard or the Channel Properties.

Important: When Ethernet Encapsulation mode is selected, the serial port settings (such as baud rate, data bits, and parity) will become grayed out. This occurs because these settings cannot be used in Ethernet Encapsulation mode. The terminal server must have its serial port properly configured to match the requirements of the serial device that will be attached to the terminal server. The server's multiple channel support allows users to have up to 16 channels on each driver protocol. When using multiple channels, a channel can be defined to use the local PC serial port and another channel can be defined to use Ethernet Encapsulation mode.

Channel-Level Ethernet Encapsulation Settings

Once Ethernet Encapsulation mode has been enabled, users need to configure its settings. If Use Ethernet Encapsulation was checked in the Communications Parameters dialog of the wizard, the settings will be displayed in a Channel Wizard dialog. To access the settings after the channel has been added, right-click on the channel and then select Properties | Ethernet Encapsulation.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Network Adapter: This parameter specifies the network adapter. IP Address: This parameter specifies the four-field IP address of the terminal server to which this device is attached. IPs are specified as YYY.YYY.YYY.YYY. The YYY designates the IP address: each YYY byte should be in the range of 0 to 255. Each channel will have its own IP address. Port Number: This parameter configures the Ethernet port that will be used when connecting to a remote terminal server. The valid range is 1 to 65535, with some numbers reserved. The default setting is 2101. Protocol: This parameter specifies TCP/IP or UDP communications, and depends on the nature of the terminal server being used. The default setting is TCP/IP. For more information on the protocol available, refer to the terminal server's help documentation. Important: The Ethernet Encapsulation mode is completely transparent to the actual serial communications driver. Users must configure the remaining device settings as if they were connecting to the device directly on the local PC serial port.

Connect Timeout: This parameter specifies the amount of time that is required to establish a socket connection for a remote device to be adjusted. In many cases, the connection time to a device can take longer than a normal communications request to that same device. The valid range is 1 to 999 seconds. The default setting is 3 seconds.

Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing the parameters.

Cable Diagrams
For more information on cables, refer to How To... Select the Correct Network Cable.

Channel Properties - Device Discovery

The Device Discovery tab is available for drivers that support device discovery, and is used to specify parameters for locating devices on the network. Once devices are found, they may be added to the channel. The maximum number of devices that can be discovered at once is 65535.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Name: This parameter specifies the name of the discovered device. ID: This parameter specifies the ID of the discovered device. This may be the Device ID or the device's IP address, depending on the driver being used. Description: This parameter specifies the description of the discovered device. Begin discovery...: This button launches the Discovery Settings dialog, which is used to specify the discovery parameters. Its parameters and appearance are driver-specific. Add selected device...: This button launches the General tab in the driver's Device Properties.

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Note: For more information on Device Discovery, refer to the driver's help documentation.

Channel Properties - Advanced

Due to the server's multi-threading architecture, channels can communicate with devices independently. In some cases, only one transmitter is allowed in order to avoid collisions (such as with Ethernet radios). Communication serialization addresses this issue by limiting one channel for communication. The term "virtual network" is used to describe a collection of channels and associated devices that use the same pipeline for communications. For example, the pipeline of an Ethernet radio is the master radio. All channels using the same master radio will associate with the same virtual network. Channels are granted exclusive control of communications in a round-robin manner: the channel will release control when all executed transactions are complete. This means that if the controlling channel has a device that is not responding to a request, the channel cannot release control until the transaction has timed out. This results in data update delays for the other channels in the virtual network.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Virtual Network: This parameter specifies the channel's mode of communication serialization. Options include None and Network 1 - Network 50. The default setting is None. Descriptions of the options are as follows:
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None: This option disables communication serialization for the channel. Network 1 - Network 50: This option specifies the virtual network to which the channel will be assigned.

Delay (ms): This parameter specifies the amount of time that the communications channel will delay sending a new request to the next device after the data has been received from the current device on the same channel. Zero (0) disables the functionality. The valid range is 0 to 60000 milliseconds. The default setting is 0.

Important: Not all drivers support Communication Serialization and the Inter-Device Delay. For more information, refer to the specific driver's help documentation.

What is a Device?
Device Functions
Devices represent the PLCs or other hardware with which the server communicates. The device driver that the channel is using restricts device selection.

Adding a Device
Devices can be added using the New Device Wizard both at the initial setup and afterwards. To do so, click Edit | New Device. Users will be prompted to enter the device name, which is user-defined and should be logical for the device. This will be the browser branch name used in OPC links to access the device's assigned tags. Users will also be prompted to enter a Network ID, which is a number or string that uniquely identifies the device on the device's network. Networked, multi-dropped devices must have a unique identifier so that the server's data requests are routed correctly. Devices that are not multi-dropped do not need an ID; thus, this setting is not available.

Removing a Device
To remove a device from the project, select the desired device then press Delete. Alternatively, click Edit | Delete.

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Displaying Device Properties

To display a device's properties, first select the device and then click Edit | Properties. For more information, refer to Device Properties.

Device Properties - General

There are a couple of steps required before a project can be configured. First, a channel must be created. Next, a device, which represents a single target on a communications channel, must be added to that channel. If the chosen driver supports multiple controllers, a Device ID must then be created for each controller. The following images demonstrate the appearance of general Serial and Ethernet Device Properties dialogs. Serial Device Properties

Ethernet Device Properties

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Name
This parameter specifies the device name, which is a logical user-defined name that can be up to 256 characters long. The same name can be used on multiple channels. While long descriptive names are generally a good idea, some OPC client applications may have a limited display window when browsing the tag space of an OPC server. The device name and channel name will become part of the browse tree information as well. Note: Within an OPC client, the combination of channel name and device name would appear as "ChannelName.DeviceName".

Model
This parameter selects the specific type of device associated with this ID. The model selection's drop-down menu contents will vary depending on the communications driver. If a driver does not support a specific model, the model will be greyed out. If the communication driver being used supports multiple models, try to match the model selection to the physical device. If the device being used is not represented in the model drop down, select a model that conforms closest to the target device. To determine this, refer to the driver help documentation. In some drivers, a model selection called "Open" is available, which allows users to communicate without knowing the specific details of the target device.

Device ID
This parameter specifies a device's driver specific station or node. The type of ID entered will depend on the communications driver being used. For many communication drivers, the ID is a numeric value. As shown in Figure 1 above, when a driver supports a numeric ID, the menu option allows users to enter a numeric value. Additionally, the format of the numeric value can be changed to suit the needs of either the application or the characteristics of the chosen communication driver. The format is set by the driver by default. Possible formats include Decimal, Octal and Hexadecimal. If the driver in use is Ethernet-based (or happens to support an unconventional station or node name), Figure 2 may be shown. In this case, the Device ID is TCP/IP ID. TCP/IP (or UDP IDs) consist of four values separated by periods, with each value containing a range of 0 to 255. Some Device IDs are string based. Depending on the communications driver being used, there may be more parameters to set up within the ID field. For more information on Device IDs, refer to the driver's help documentation.

Enable Data Collection

This parameter controls the device's active state. Although device communications are enabled by default, this parameter can be used to disable a physical device for servicing. After a device has been disabled, no communications will be attempted. From a client standpoint, the data will be marked as invalid and Write operations

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will not be accepted. This parameter can be changed at any time either through the menu selection or by accessing the device's System Tags.

Simulate Device
This parameter places the device into simulation mode. While in simulation mode, the driver will not attempt to communicate with the physical device; however, the server will continue to return valid OPC data. Unlike the Enable data collection parameter (which stops physical communications with a given device and places the OPC data in an error state), Simulate Device stops physical communications with the device but allows OPC data to be returned to the OPC client as valid data. While in simulation mode, the server will treat all device data as reflective: whatever is written to the simulated device will be read back. Furthermore, each OPC item will be treated individually. The item's memory map is based on the Group Update Rate. The data will not be saved if the server removes the item (such as when the server is reinitialized). Simulation mode is disabled by default. This parameter can be changed at any time through the Device Properties. Note: This mode's System Tag (_Simulated) is Read Only and cannot be written to for Runtime protection. The system tag allows this parameter to be monitored from the client. Caution: Simulation mode is for test and simulation purposes only. It should never be applied or used in a production environment. Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Changing the Device Name can prevent clients from registering data with the server. If a client has already acquired items from the server before the name was changed, the items will be unaffected. If, after name has changed, the client application releases the item and attempts to reacquire it using the old device name, the item will not be accepted. Thus, users shouldn't make changes to parameters like device name after a large client application has developed. The Device ID parameter can be changed at any time and will take effect immediately. If the communications driver supports multiple device models, the model selection can only be changed if there are currently no client applications connected to the device. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features in order to prevent operators from changing parameters.

Device Properties - Scan Mode

The Scan Mode parameters specify the device's scan rate. Options include Respect client specified scanrate, Request data no faster than x, and Request all data at x. The default setting is Respect client specified scanrate.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:
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Respect client specified scanrate: This mode uses the scan rate that is requested by the client. Request data no faster than x: This mode specifies the maximum scan rate that will be used. The default setting is 1000 milliseconds. Request all data at x: This mode forces all tags to be scanned at the specified rate. The default setting is 1000 milliseconds.

Device Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation

Ethernet Encapsulation mode has been designed to provide communication with serial devices connected to terminal servers on the Ethernet network. A terminal server is essentially a virtual serial port. The terminal server converts TCP/IP messages on the Ethernet network to serial data. Once the message has been converted to a serial form, users can connect standard devices that support serial communications to the terminal server. For more information, refer to How to... Use Ethernet Encapsulation.

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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IP Address: This parameter is used to enter the four-field IP address of the terminal server to which the device is attached. IPs are specified as YYY.YYY.YYY.YYY. The YYY designates the IP address: each YYY byte should be in the range of 0 to 255. Each serial device may have its own IP address; however, devices may have the same IP address if there are multiple devices multi-dropped from a single terminal server. Port: This parameter is used to configure the Ethernet port that will be used when connecting to a remote terminal server. Protocol: This parameter is used to select either TCP/IP or UDP communications. The selection depends on the nature of the terminal server being used. The default protocol selection is TCP/IP. For more information on available protocols, refer to the terminal server's help documentation.

Important: The Ethernet Encapsulation mode is completely transparent to the actual serial communications driver. Thus, the remaining device settings should be configured as if they were connecting to the device directly on the local PC serial port. Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing the parameters.

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The Device Timing parameters allow the driver's response to error conditions to be tailored to fit the application's needs. In many cases, the environment in which the application runs may require changes to the Timing parameters. Factors such as electrically generated noise, modem delays and bad physical connections can influence how many errors or timeouts a communications driver encounters. Timing parameters are specific to each configured device.

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Connection Timeout: This parameter (which is used primarily by Ethernet based drivers) controls the amount of time required to establish a socket connection to a remote device. The device's connection time often takes longer than normal communications requests to that same device. The valid range is 1 to 30 seconds. The default is typically 3 seconds, but can vary depending on the driver's specific nature. If this setting is not supported by the driver, it will be disabled. Note: Due to the nature of UDP connections, the connection timeout setting is not applicable when communicating via UDP.

Request Timeout: This parameter specifies an interval used by all drivers to determine how long the driver will wait for a response from the target device to complete. The valid range is 50 to 99999 milliseconds. The default setting is usually 1000 milliseconds, but can vary depending on the driver's specific nature. The default timeout for most serial drivers is based on a baud rate of 9600 baud or better. When using the driver at lower baud rates, users may need to increase the timeout to compensate for the increased time required to acquire data. Fail After: This parameter specifies how many times the driver will retry a communications request before considering the request to have failed and the device to be in error. The valid range is 1 to 10 retries. The default is typically 3 retries but can vary depending on the driver's specific nature. The number of retires configured for an application depends largely on the communications environment. Timeouts: If the environment is prone to noise induced communications failures, users may want to set up the devices for auto-demotion or increase the number of retries that the driver performs. If increasing the number of retries, note that when the driver encounters a communication issue, it will attempt to reacquire the data for any lost requests. Based on the "Request timeout" and the "Fail after" count, the driver will pause on a specific request until either the device responds or the timeout and retries have been exceeded. This can potentially decrease the communications of other devices that have been configured

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on that channel. In this situation, it may be more appropriate to utilize the auto-demotion functionality to optimize communications with other devices on the same channel.
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Inter-Request Delay: This parameter specifies how long the driver will wait before sending the next request to the target device. It will override the normal polling frequency of tags associated with the device, as well as one-shot Reads and writes. This delay can be useful when dealing with devices with slow turnaround times and in cases where network load is a concern. Configuring a delay for a device will, however, affect communications with all other devices on the channel. Thus, it is recommended that users segregate any device that requires an inter-request delay to a separate channel if possible. The inter-request delay has a valid range of 0 to 30000 milliseconds. The default is 0, indicating that there will be no delay between requests with the target device. This setting will be disabled if it is not supported by the driver.

Note 1: To determine when communication errors are occurring, use the device's "_System Tag, _Error" tag. Note 2: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features in order to prevent operators from changing the parameters.

Device Properties - Auto-Demotion

The Auto-Demotion parameters allow a driver to temporarily place a device off-scan in the event that a device is not responding. By placing a nonresponsive device offline for a specific time period, the driver can continue to optimize its communications with other devices on the same channel. After the time period has been reached, the driver will reattempt to communicate with the nonresponsive device. If the device is responsive, the device will be placed on-scan; otherwise, it will restart its off-scan time period.

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Enable auto device demotion on communication failures: When checked, auto demotion will be enabled. Demote after __ successive failures: This parameter indicates how many successive cycles of request timeouts and retries will occur before the device is placed off-scan. The valid range is 1 to 30 successive failures. The default setting is 3.

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Demote for __ milliseconds: This parameter indicates how long the device should be placed off-scan when the "Demote after" parameter has been reached. During this period, no read requests will be sent to the device and all data associated with the read requests will be set to bad quality. When this period expires, the driver will place the device on-scan and allow for another attempt at communications. The valid range is 100 to 3600000 milliseconds. The default setting is 10000 milliseconds. Discard write requests during the demotion period: This parameter controls whether or not Write requests should be attempted during the off-scan period. The default setting always sends write requests regardless of the demotion period. If users choose to discard writes, the server will automatically fail any write request received from a client and will not post an "Unable to write..." message to the server Event Log.

Note: Users can determine when a device is off-scan by monitoring its demoted state by using the "_AutoDemoted System" tag.

What is a Tag?
A tag represents addresses within the PLC or other hardware device with which the server communicates. The server allows both Dynamic Tags and user-defined Static Tags. Dynamic Tags are entered directly in the OPC client and specify device data. User-defined Static Tags are created in the server and support tag scaling. They can be browsed from OPC clients that support tag browsing.

Displaying Tag Properties

To invoke the Tag Properties for a specific tag, double-click on it in the Tag Selection pane of the server configuration.

Tag Properties - General

A tag represents addresses in the PLC or other hardware device with which the server communicates. The server allows both Dynamic Tags and user-defined Static Tags. Dynamic Tags are entered directly in the OPC client and specify device data. User-defined Static Tags are created in the server and support tag scaling. They can be browsed from OPC clients that support tag browsing. For more information, refer to Dynamic Tags and Static User-Defined Tags. Note: This dialog contains a number of features that are driven by icons.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Tag Name: This parameter is used to enter the string that will represent the data available from the tag. The tag name can be up to 256 characters in length. While using long descriptive names is generally a good idea, some OPC client applications may have a limited display window when browsing the tag space of an OPC server. The tag name is part of the OPC browse data tag names must be unique within a given device branch or tag group branch. If the application is best suited for using blocks of tags with the same names, then use tag groups to segregate the tags. For more information, refer to Tag Group Properties. Address: This parameter is used to enter the tag's desired driver address. The address's format is based on the driver being used. To determine how an address should be entered, click Hints. The address entered can be up to 128 characters in length. Once an address has been entered, it can be tested by clicking Check Address, which will then attempt to validate the address with the driver. If the driver accepts the address as entered, no message will be displayed. A popup will inform of any error. Some errors will be related to the data type selection and not the address string. Note: Hints provide a quick reference guide to the driver's address formats. Users can also access the driver's help documentation from Hints.

Description: This parameter is used to attach a comment to the tag. A string of up to 64 characters can be entered for the description. When using an OPC client that supports Data Access 2.0 Tag Properties, the description parameter will be accessible from the tag's Item Description properties. Data Type: This parameter is used to specify the format of this tag's data as it is found in the physical device. In most cases, this is also the format of the data as it returned to the client. The data type setting is an important part of how a communication driver Reads and Writes data to a device. For many drivers, the data type of a particular piece of data is rigidly fixed and the driver knows what format needs to be used when reading the device's data. In some cases, however, the interpretation of device data is largely in the user's hands. An example would be a device that uses 16 bit data registers. Normally this would indicate that the data is either a Short or Word. Many register-based devices also support values that span two registers. In these cases the double register values could be a Long, DWord or Float. When the driver being used supports this level of flexibility, users must tell it how to read data for this tag. By selecting the appropriate data type, the driver to is being told to read either one register or two or possibly a Boolean value. The driver governs the data format being choosen. For specific information on available data types, click Hints to access the driver's help documentation. Available data type selections are as follows:

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Default - This selection allows the driver to choose its default data type. Boolean - Single bit data On or Off. Char - Signed 8 bit data. Byte - Unsigned 8 bit data. Short - Signed 16 bit data. Word - Unsigned 16 bit data. Long - Signed 32 bit data. DWord - Unsigned 32 bit data. Float - 32 bit Real value IEEE format. Double - 64 bit Real value IEEE format. String - Null terminated ASCII string. BCD - Two byte-packed BCD value range is 0-9999. LBCD - Four byte-packed BCD value range is 0-99999999. Date - 64 bit Real value representing the number of days since December 31, 1899.
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Client Access: This parameter is used to specify whether the tag is Read Only or Read/Write. By selecting Read Only, users can prevent client applications from changing the data contained in this tag. By selecting Read/Write, users allow client applications to change this tag's value as needed. The Client access selection also affects how the tag appears in the browse space of an OPC client. Many OPC client applications allow users to filter tags based on their attributes. Changing the access method of this tag may change how and when the tag will appear in the browse space of the OPC client. Scan Rate: This parameter is used to specify the update interval for this tag when used with a non-OPC client. OPC clients can control the rate at which data is scanned by using the update rate that is part of all OPC groups. Normally non-OPC clients don't have that luxury. The server is used to specify an update rate on a tag per tag basis for non-OPC clients. Using the scan rate, users can tailor the bandwidth requirements of the server to suit the needs of the application. If, for example, data that changes very slowly needs to be read, there is no reason to read the value very often. Using the scan rate this tag can be forced to read at a slower rate reducing the demand on the communications channel. The valid range is 10 to 99999990 ms., with a 10 ms. increment. The default is 100 milliseconds.

Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Changes made to Tag Properties will take effect immediately; however, OPC clients that have already connected to this tag will not be affected until they release and attempt to reacquire it. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing the parameters.

Multiple Tag Generation

The Multiple Tag Generation Tool dynamically creates multiple tags using user-defined driver nomenclature. It allows a variety of address formats (such as ranges utilizing decimal, hexadecimal, and octal number systems). To avoid overlapping data, the Tag Generator Tool also has the ability to increment by the user-defined data type. For information on a specific dialog, select a link from the list below: Add Numeric Range Add Static Text Add Text Sequence Multiple Tag Generation Preview Tag Name Properties

Multiple Tag Generation

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Name: This parameter specifies the user-defined tag name. Address: This field displays the tag's address, which is generated through options defined in the Address Builder dialogs. Data Type: This parameter specifies the tag's data type, which will be applied to all generated tags. Depending on the native interface supported by the driver, the data type may override the default increment of the Add Numeric Range property for the last element. The default setting is Default. Client Access: This parameter specifies the tag's access. Options include Read Only and Read/Write. The default setting is Read Only. Scan Rate: This parameter specifies the rate at which tags will be scanned. The valid range is 10 to 99999990 milliseconds. The default setting is 100 milliseconds. Add Static Text: When clicked, this button launches the Add Static Text dialog. Add Numeric Range: When clicked, this button launches the Add Numeric Range dialog. Add Text Sequence: When clicked, this button launches the Add Text Sequence dialog. Preview: When clicked, this button will generate a preview of the generated tags.

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Note 1: To enable the Edit icons, highlight a section of the syntax element. Note 2: The Hints icon opens the driver help file's Address Description topic. Users can click between the two dialogs for reference.

Address Builder
The following dialogs are used to generate the address syntax. Upon completion, click OK. The values and text specified in the dialogs will then be added to the Address Template field. Add Static Text

Description of the parameter is as follows:

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Enter Text: This field allows a single line of text to be created by the user.

Add Numeric Range

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Base System: This parameter specifies the base system that will be used by the range. Options include Decimal, Octal, and Hexadecimal. The default setting is Decimal. Range: This parameter specifies the starting and ending values for the numeric range. Increment By: When checked, the range will be automatically incremented by a value of one. If applicable, it will be incremented by the specified data type. When unchecked, users must specify a custom increment value that must be numeric. The default setting is checked.

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Add Text Sequence

Description of the parameter is as follows:

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Enter Text: This field allows multiple strings to be created by the user. Each string will be inserted independently of the other strings specified in the list.

Multiple Tag Generation Preview

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Descriptions of the options are as follows:

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Generate: This button sends all valid tags to the server for insertion. Cancel: This button rejects any changes made to the tags and returns the user to the Tag Duplication dialog. Tag Name: This button invokes the Tag Name Properties dialog. Add as Group: When checked, this option adds the tags as a group. The default setting is unchecked. Renumber valid tags consecutively before adding to project: When checked, this option renumbers the tags consecutively before they are added to the project. The default setting is checked.

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Note: Tags shown with a green check mark are valid. Tags shown with a red x are invalid. Tag Name Properties The Tag Generator Tool includes the option for a custom naming scheme, thus allowing users to specify both a name prefix and a numeric suffix to all the tags. The numeric suffix is automatically incremented for each tag, allowing users to create custom names for tags for better readability. Assigned tag names may be changed after generation. A default naming scheme will be implemented to each generated tag if the user does not define a custom name through the Tag Name Properties dialog. Note: Users who change the naming scheme in the Generation dialog before returning to the Tag Duplication dialog to make changes to the addressing syntax can choose to save the naming scheme for the next time the tag list is generated.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Name Prefix: This parameter specifies a custom name prefix. Start Value: This parameter specifies the numeric starting value to increment for each tag. Default naming scheme: When checked, the default naming scheme will be used. The default setting is disabled.

See Also: Generating Multiple Tags

Tag Properties - Scaling

This server supports Tag Scaling, which allows raw data from the device to be scaled to an appropriate range for the application. To enable tag scaling, select either Linear or Square Root. Scaling cannot be enabled if None is checked. The formula for both tag scaling types are shown in the table below. Type Linear Square root Formula for Scaled Value (((ScaledHigh - ScaledLow)/(RawHigh - RawLow))*(RawValue - RawLow)) + ScaledLow (Square root ((RawValue - RawLow)/(RawHigh - RawLow))*(ScaledHigh - ScaledLow)) + ScaledLow

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Raw Value Range: These settings are used to specify the range of raw data from the device. The raw value High setting must be greater than the Low setting. The valid range depends on the raw tag value's data type. For example, if the raw value is Short, the valid range of the raw value would be from -32768 to 32767. Scaled Value Range: These settings are used to specify the range of the resulting scaled value. Data Type: A scaled value is usually assumed to result in a floating-point value, although the server does not make that assumption. The data type can be set to any valid OPC data type. This gives users the ability to scale from a raw data type such as Short to an engineering value with a data type of Long if needed. The default scaled data type is Double. High and Low: The scaled value High must be greater than the scaled value Low. The valid range depends on the data type of the scaled value. For example, if the scaled data type is set to Long, then the valid range would be -2147483648 to 2147483647. Clamp: The raw data from the device may exceed the range that has been specified for the raw data. When this occurs, the scaled value is also forced outside of the established range. To prevent this from occurring, the High and Low Clamps can be used to constrain the scaled value to the range specified. Units: The server also allows a unit's string to be assigned to a scaled tag. The unit's string can be up to 32 characters long. Negate scaled value: This parameter forces the resulting value to be negated before being passed to the client.

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Note 1: The OPC server supports the OPC tag properties available in the 2.0 Data Access specifications. If the OPC client being used supports these properties, it can automatically configure the range of objects (such as user input objects or displays) by using the Scaling settings. Note 2: With the server's full-time online operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Changes made to Tag Properties will take effect immediately; however, OPC clients that have already connected to the tag will not be affected until they release and reacquire it. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features in order to prevent any unauthorized operator from changing these parameters.

Dynamic Tags
Dynamic Tag addressing is a second method of defining tags. Dynamic Tags allow users to define tags solely in the client application. Thus, instead of creating a tag item in the client that addresses another tag item created in the server, users only need to create tag items in the client that directly accesses the device driver's addresses. On client connect, the server will create a virtual tag for that location and will start scanning for data automatically. To specify an optional data type, append one of the following strings after the '@' symbol:
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Byte Char Short Word Long DWord Float Double BCD LBCD String

If the data type is omitted, the driver will choose a default data type based on the device and address that is being references. The default data types for all locations are documented in each individual driver's help documentation. If the data type specified is not valid for the device location, the server will not accept the tag and an error will be posted in the Event Log window.

OPC Client Using Dynamic Addressing Example

Scan the 16-bit location 'R0001' on the Simulator device. The following Dynamic Tag examples assume that the project created is part of the example.

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1. Start the OPC client application and connect to the server. 2. Using the Simulator driver, create a channel and name it "Channel1." Then, make a device and name it "Device1." 3. In the client application, define an item name as "Channel1.Device1.R0001@Short." 4. The client project will automatically start receiving data. The default data type for address R0001 in the Simulator device is Word. To override this, the @Short has been appended to select a data type of Short. Note: When utilizing Dynamic Tags in an OPC client application, the use of the @[Data Type] modifier is not normally required. OPC clients can specify the desired data type as part of the request when registering a link for a specific data item. The data type specified by the OPC client will be used if it is supported by the communications driver. The @[Data Type] modifier can be useful when ensuring that a communications driver interprets a piece of data exactly as needed.

Non-OPC Client Example

Non-OPC clients can override the update rate on a per-tag basis by appending @[Update Rate]. For example, appending "<DDE service name>|_ddedata!Device1.R0001@500" will override just the update rate. " <DDE service name>|_ddedata!Device1.R0001@500,Short" will override both update rate and data type. See Also: Static Tags (User-Defined) and Designing a Project: Adding User-Defined Tags. Note 1: For every device in a project that can be used by a client to determine whether a device is functioning properly, the server creates a special Boolean tag. To use this tag, specify the item in the link as Error. The value of this tag is zero if the device is communicating properly; otherwise, it is one. Note 2: If the device address is used as the item of a link such that the address matches the name of a userdefined tag in the server, the link will reference the address pointed to by the user-defined tag. Note 3: Static Tags must be used in order to scale data in the server.

Static Tags (User-Defined)

The most common method that uses the server to get data from the device to the client application has two requirements. Users must first define a set of tags in the server project and then use the assigned tag name as the item of each link between the client and the server. The primary benefit to using this method is that all userdefined tags are available for browsing within most OPC clients. Before deciding whether or not to create Static Tags, ensure that the client can browse or import tags from the server. Note: User-defined tags support scaling.

What is a Tag Group?

This server allows tag groups to be added to the project. Tag groups are used to tailor the layout of OPC data into logical groupings that fit the application's needs. Tag groups allow multiple sets of identical tags to be added under the same device: this can be convenient when a single device handles a number of similar machine segments.

Tag Group Properties

From an OPC client standpoint, Tag Groups allow users to segregate OPC data into smaller tag lists, thus making finding specific tags easier when browsing the server. The following image used the supplied OPC Quick client to create Cell1 and Cell2 tag groups and simplify the OPC Client browsing.

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To add a new tag group to the project, right-click on either an existing device or tag group branch and select New Tag Group from the context menu. Alternatively, click on either an existing device or tag group branch and then click the New Tag Group icon on the toolbar.

When adding a new tag group to the project, users will be presented with the following dialog.

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Tag groups can be added at any level from the device-level down, and multiple tag groups can be nested together to fit the application's needs. As seen in the OPC Quick Client dialog above, the fully qualified OPC item path is "Channel1.Device1.Machine1.Cell1.Tag1". For this OPC item, "Machine1" and "Cell1" segments are nested tag groups. Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Any changes made to the tag groups will take effect immediately. If the name is changed, OPC clients that have already used that tag group as part of an OPC item request will not be affected until they release the item and attempt to reacquire it. New tag groups added to the project will immediately allow browsing from an OPC client. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features in order to prevent operators from changing the parameters.

What is the Alias Map?

The Alias Map provides both a mechanism for backwards compatibility with legacy server applications as well as a way to assign simple alias names to complex tag references. This is especially useful in client applications that limit the size of tag address paths. Although the latest version of the server will automatically create the alias map, users can add their own alias map entries to compliment those created by the server. Users can also filter the server created aliases so that the only ones visible are their own. Alias Map elements can be added, edited, deleted, exported and imported by clicking on the appropriate icon buttons in the Alias Map window. The Alias Properties dialog allows an alias to be added or edited. The image below displays the various alias map entries generated for the server project.

Descriptions of the icons are as follows.

To create a new Alias, click

. .

To edit an existing alias, select the alias from the list and then click To delete manually created aliases, click .

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To import an alias map as a .CSV file, click To export an alias map as a .CSV file, click

. .

Note: When checked, the Show auto-generated aliases parameter will show the server's automatically generated aliases. The default setting is unchecked. See Also: How to... Create and Use an Alias

Alias Properties
The Alias Map allows a way to assign simple alias names to Complex Tag references that can be used in client applications. An alias is constructed by entering an alias name and then clicking on the desired device name or group name.

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Alias Name: This parameter specifies the alias name, which can be up to 256 characters long. It must be unique in the alias map. Mapped To: This parameter specifies the location of the alias. Because the alias map does not allow tag items to be browsed from the alias table, users should create a simple name that replaces the address that leads up to the tag. This will make is easier to address items in a client application that does not support tag browsing. Scan rate override: This selection specifies an update rate that will be applied to all DDE/FastDDE/SuiteLink and most other non-OPC tags accessed using this alias map entry. This setting is equivalent to the Topic update rate found in many DDE only servers. The valid range is 0 to 99999990 milliseconds. The default is 0 milliseconds. Note: When set to 0 milliseconds, the server will observe the DDE scan rate set at the individual tag level.

Show system tag groups: When checked, this parameter will display the channel and device level _ System tag groups. The default setting is unchecked.

Once the desired path has been selected and the DDE scan rate has been set, click OK to complete the alias. To enter more alias map elements, return to the Alias Map dialog.

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The Event Log displays the date, time and source of an information, warning or error event. For more information, select a link from the list below. Event Log Display Event Log Page Setup

Event Log Display

The Event Filter helps users tailor the Event Log's contents to meet the application's reporting requirements. There are currently three types of messages that can be recorded in the Event Log: General Messages, Warnings and Errors. General messages include server startup and shutdown messages; Warnings include messages such as device not responding; Errors include messages such as the rejection of bad OPC item request. Users can access the Event Filter in the Configuration Client by clicking Tools | Event Log | Event Filter. Alternatively, users can also right-click anywhere in the Event Log display and then select Event Filter. Accessing Through the Tools Menu

Accessing Through the Context Menu

Note: The Event Log system would be useless if there was no mechanism to protect its contents. If operators could change these parameters or reset the log, the purpose would be lost. Utilize the User Manager to limit the functions an operator can access and prevent these actions from occurring. See Also: Settings - Event Log

Event Log Page Setup

Event Log Printing and Setup
The Event Log's print content and appearance can be customized by selecting Tools | Event Log | Page Setup. Options for modification include margin size, font and event details. To preview the changes, click Tools | Event Log | Print Preview.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows.

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Margin: This parameter specifies the distance from the edge of the Event Log's printed page to the top, bottom, left and right. All margin settings are entered in inches. Fonts: This parameter specifies the font of the header and footer text, as well as for the Event Log records. Only fixed space fonts will appear in the Fonts dialog. To change a font, simply click on the change button. When invoked, the standard font selection dialog will be displayed. The default settings are shown in the image above. Print Options: This parameter selects which fields will be included in the print output. If all options are deselected, the resulting output will only contain a list of event descriptions. Print separator lines: This option forces a single line to be drawn between each group of five event records on the resulting Event Log printout.

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KEPServerEX V5 Help Designing a Project

There are several steps required in creating, configuring, and running a project. The following examples demonstrate the process of building a project. For more information on a specific topic, select a link from the list below. For information on software and hardware requirements, refer to System Requirements. Running the Server Starting a New Project Adding and Configuring a Channel Adding and Configuring a Device Adding User-Defined Tags Generating Multiple Tags Adding Tag Scaling Saving the Project Testing the Project

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Note: The following examples use the Simulator Driver that is supplied with the server. The Simulator Driver is a memory-based driver that provides both static and changing data for demonstration purposes. Because it does not have the range of configuration options found in other communication drivers, some examples may display additional screen shots to demonstrate specific product features.

Running the Server

This server can be run as both a service and as a desktop application. When running in the default setting as a service, the server is online at all times. When running as a desktop application, the OPC client can automatically invoke the server when it attempts to connect and collect data. In order for either process to work correctly, users must first create and configure a project. Upon starting, the server will automatically load the most recently used project. Initially, users must manually invoke the server. To do so, either double-click the desktop icon or select Configuration from the Administration menu located in the System Tray. The interface's appearance will depend on what changes have been made by the user. For more information on the Configuration's elements, refer to Basic Server Components. Once the server is running, a project may be created.

Starting a New Project

Users must configure the server to determine what content will be provided during operation. For a server project, this will include definition of channels, devices, optional tag groups, and tags. These factors exist in the context of a project file. As with many applications, a number of project files can be defined, saved, and loaded as needed.

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A number of configuration options are global and will be applied to all projects. These global options are configured in the Tools | Options dialog, which includes General Options, Runtime Connection Options, Event Logger Options, OPC Options, and Compliancy Options. The global options will be stored in a Windows INI file called "Servermain.INI" and set in the Windows registry. This file is located in the server's root directory. While it is normal practice to store global options in the Windows registry, the INI file allows users to easily move the global settings from one machine to another.

Adding and Configuring a Channel

The first step in creating a new project is determining the communications driver that is required by the application: in the server, this is referred to as a channel. A number of channels can be defined within a single project (depending on the driver or drivers installed). In this example, the Simulator Driver is used. 1. To start, add a new channel to the project by clicking Edit | Devices | New Channel. Alternatively, click the New Channel icon on the toolbar.

2. In the Channel Wizard, leave the channel name at its default setting "Channel1". Then, click Next. 3. In Device Driver, select the communications driver that will be applied to the channel. Then, click Next. In this example, the Simulator Driver is used. 4. For the Simulator Driver, the next dialog is Channel Summary. Other applications may have additional dialog pages that allow the configuration of parameters such as communications port, baud rate, and parity. 5. Upon completion, click Finish.

Important: A small red "x" should be visible below the channel icon. This denotes that the channel does not contain a valid configuration (because no devices have been added yet). See Also: How to... Optimize the Server Project and Server Summary Information.

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Once a channel has been defined, a device can be added. The device identifies the physical node or station of a communications link, and can be thought of as a way to frame the connection's definition to a specific point of interest in the application. In this respect, a device is the correct term for describing the connection to a database object. In this example, Simulator Driver is used. As such, "device" will refer to a specific device on a network, support multiple device nodes, and allow users to simulate networked devices. Note: The number of dialog pages in the Device Wizard depends on the driver. 1. To start, select the channel to which the device will be added. Then, click Edit | New Device. Alternatively, click the Add Device icon on the toolbar.

2. In the Device Wizard, leave the name at its default setting "Device1". Then, click Next. 3. In Model, select either an 8 or 16 bit register size for the device being simulated. Then, click Next. Note: Other device drivers may require users to select a device model instead. For this example, 16 bit register size is chosen. 4. InID, select the Device ID (which is the unique identifier required by the actual communications protocol). Then, click Next. Note: The Device ID's format and style will depend on the communications driver being used. For the Simulator Driver, the Device ID is a numeric value. 5. In Scan Mode, specify the device's scan rate. Then, click Next. 6. For the Simulator Driver, the next dialog is the Device Summary. Other applications may have additional dialog pages that allow the configuration of parameters (such as the Timing dialog displayed below).

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7. Upon completion, click Finish. Note: With the server's online full-time mode of operation, the server can start providing OPC data immediately. At this point, however, the configuration can potentially be lost because the project hasn't been saved. Before saving, users can add tags to the server. For more information, refer to Adding User-Defined Tags.

Adding User-Defined Tags

The server can get data from a device to the client application in two ways. The first and most common method requires that users define a set of tags in the server project and then use the name previously assigned to each tag as the item of each link between the client and the server. This method makes all user-defined tags available for browsing within OPC clients. Note:User-defined tags support scaling. For more information, refer to Adding Tag Scaling. 1. To start, select a device name from the channel/device tree hierarchy in the server. In this example, the selected device is "Device1". 2. Next, click Edit | Devices | New Tag. Alternatively, right-click on the device and select Add Tag.

3. In Tag Properties - General, edit the controls to match the following content:

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Tag Name: MyFirstTag Address: R000 Description (Optional): My First Simulator Tag Data Type: Word Client Access: Read/Write Scan Rate: 100 milliseconds. This parameter does not apply to OPC tags. Note: For more information, refer to Tag Properties - General.

4. If necessary, use Hints to determine the driver's correct settings. To invoke Hints, click on the question mark icon in Tag Properties.

Note: The Address, Data Type, and Client Access fields depend on the communications driver. For example, in the Simulator Driver, "R000" is a valid address that supports a data type of Word and has Read/Write access. 5. For additional information, click Help. This will invoke the "Address Descriptions" topic in the driver's help documentation. 6. Next, commit the tag to the server by pressing Apply. The tag should now be visible in the server. 7. In this example, a second tag must be added for use in Tag Properties - Scaling. To do so, click the New icon in Tag Properties - General. This will return the parameters to their default setting. Then, enter the following:

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Tag Name: MySecondTag Address: K000 Description: My First Scaled Tag Data Type: Short Client Access: Read/Write

8. Next, commit the new tag to the server by pressing Apply. The tag should now be visible in the server.

Error Messages
When entering tag information, users may be presented with an occasional error message from the server or driver. The server will generate error messages when users attempt to add a tag using the same tag name as an existing tag. The communications driver will generate errors for three possible reasons: 1. If there are any errors entered in the format or content of the address field (including errors in the address range of a particular device specific data item).

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2. When the selected data type is not available for the address that has been entered. 3. If the selected client access level is not available for the address that has been entered. In each of these cases, the error message will be specific in describing the error. For more information, refer to Error Descriptions.

Dynamic Tag Addressing

Dynamic Tag addressing defines tags solely in the client application. Instead of creating a tag item in the client that addresses another tag item that has been created in the server, users only need to create a tag item in the client that directly accesses the device address. On client connect, the server will create a virtual tag for that location and start scanning for data automatically. For more information, refer to Dynamic Tags. Note 1: The server creates a special Boolean tag for every device in a project that can be used by a client to determine whether that device is functioning properly. To use this tag, specify the item in the link as "Error". This tag will be zero if the device is communicating properly, or one if the device is not. Note 2: If the data type is omitted, the driver will choose a default data type based on the device and address being referenced. The default data types for all locations are documented in the driver's help documentation. If the data type specified is not valid for the device location, the server will not accept the tag and an error will be posted in the Event Log window. Note 3: If a device address is used as the item of a link (such that the address matches the name of a userdefined tag in the server) the link will reference the address pointed to by the user-defined tag. With the server's online full-time operation, users can start using this project in an OPC client at this time. For the sake of work preservation, proceed to Saving the Project.

Generating Multiple Tags

The Multiple Tag Generation Tool dynamically creates tags using user-defined driver nomenclature. For information on using the tool, refer to the instructions below. For more information on its dialogs and parameters, refer to Multiple Tag Generation. 1. To start, select a device and then click Edit | Devices | New Tag. Alternatively, right-click on a device and then select New Tag.

2. In Tag Properties, select the Multiple Tag Generation icon (located to the bottom-right of the Identification parameters).

3. In Multiple Tag Generation, first define the tag name. Then, configure the Data Properties parameters as desired.

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4. Next, click Add Static Text. In this dialog, enter the text as desired. Once finished, press OK.

5. Next, click Add Numeric Range. In this dialog, enter the base system, range, and increment. Once finished, press OK.

6. Next, click Add Text Sequence. In this dialog, enter the text as desired. Separate each entry with a new line. Once finished, press OK.

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7. Next, click Preview.

Note: Valid tags will be displayed with a green checkmark. Invalid tags will be displayed with a red x. 8. To add the tags as a group, check Add as Group.

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9. To change a tag's name or starting value, select Tag Name.Once finished, click OK.

10. To generate the tags, click Generate. If the generation is successful, users will return to the Multiple Tag Generation dialog. 11. Click Close. Then, click OK. Note: The generated tags should now be visible in the tag display window. See Also: Multiple Tag Generation

Adding Tag Scaling

Users have the option of applying tag scaling when creating a new tag in the server. This allows raw data from the device to be scaled to an appropriate range for the application. There are two types of scaling: Linear and Square Root. For more information, refer to Tag Properties - Scaling. Note: The image below uses the second tag created in Adding User-Defined Tags.

1. To start, open the tag's Tag Properties. 2. Next, open the Scaling tab and select Linear.

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3. In Raw Value Range, specify the expected data range from the device. The scaled data type also allows users to specify how the resulting scaled value is presented to the OPC client application. 4. In Scaled Value Range, specify the desired range for the resulting value in engineering units. Applying the high and low clamps ensures that the output will always stay within the configured limits. If the raw data exceeds the range set by the raw value High and Low, it will force the scaled value beyond the range that has been entered for the scaled value. The clamps prevent this from occurring.

5. In Units, specify a string to the OPC client that describes the format or unit for the resulting engineering value. In order to use the Units field, an OPC client that can access the Data Access 2.0 tag properties data is required. If the client does not support these features, there is no need to configure this field. 6. Once the data has been entered as shown above, click OK.

Saving the Project

There should now be a project configured with two user-defined tags that are ready to be saved. How the project is saved depends on whether the project is a Runtime project or an offline project.
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When editing a Runtime project, the server's online full-time operation allows immediate access to tags from an OPC client once it has been saved to disk. Because the changes are made to the actual project, users can save by clicking File | Save. Users can overwrite the existing project or save the edits as a new project, and are also given the option of loading the new project as the default Runtime project.

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When editing an offline project, users have the option to save to the same project or to save as a new project. Once completed, click Runtime | Connect and then load the new project as the default Runtime project.

Note: An OPC client application can automatically invoke an OPC server when the client needs data. The OPC server, however, needs to know what project to run when it is called upon in this fashion. The server will load the most recent project that has been loaded or configured. To determine what project the server will load, look to the Most Recently Used file list found in File. The loaded project will be the first project file listed.

Testing the Project

The server includes a full-featured OPC Quick Client that supports all of the operations available in any OPC client application. The Quick Client can access all of the data available in the server application, and is used to read and write data, perform structured test suites, and test server performance. It also provides detailed feedback regarding any OPC errors returned by the server. 1. To start, locate the OPC Quick Client program in the same program group as the server. Then, run the OPC Quick Client.

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2. Next, establish a connection by clicking Edit | New Server Connection.

3. Then, use the Server Properties dialog to make connections with an OPC Server either locally or remotely via DCOM. This dialog is configured with the server's Prog ID by default. The name listed in the server connection dialog is called the Prog ID of the server. OPC clients use this name to reference a specific OPC server.

Note: Once a connection is made, two things may happen. If the server is running, the OPC Quick Client will simply make a connection to the server. If the server is not running, it will start up automatically. 4. Next, add a group to the connection. To do so, select the server connection and then click Edit | New Group.

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Note: Groups act as a container for any tags that will be accessed from the server, and also provide control over how tags are updated. All OPC clients use groups to access OPC server data. A number of properties are attached to a group that allow the OPC client to determine how often the data should be read from the tags, whether the tags are active or inactive, whether a dead band applies, and so forth. These properties let the OPC client control how the OPC server operates. For more information on Group Properties, refer to the OPC Quick Client help documentation. 5. For the purpose of this example, edit the Group Properties parameters to match the following image.

Note: The Update Rate, Percent Dead Band, and Active State parameters control when and if data will be returned for the group's tags. Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:
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Name: This parameter is used for reference from the client and can actually be left blank. Update Rate: This parameter specifies how often data will be scanned from the actual device, and how often data will be returned to the OPC client as a result of that scan. Percent Dead Band: This parameter eliminates or reduces noise content in the data by only detecting changes when they exceed the percentage change that has been requested. The percent change is a factor of the data type of a given tag. Active State: This parameter turns all of the tags in this group either on or off.

6. Upon completion, click OK.

Accessing Tags

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OPC server tags must be added to the group before they can be accessed. OPC Data Access specifications define a tag browsing interface as one that allows an OPC client to directly access and display the available tags in an OPC server. By allowing the OPC client application to browse the tag space of the OPC server, users can simply click on the desired tags to automatically add them to a group. 1. To start, select the group in which tags will be placed. Then, click Edit | New Item.

Note: The Add Items dialog also provides a tree view of the Browsing section and can be used to browse into an OPC server to find tags configured at the server. When using the "Example1" project, users can access the tags previously defined by expanding the branches of the view. 2. Once the tree hierarchy is at the point shown in the image above, users can begin adding tags to the OPC group by double-clicking on the tag name. As tags are added to the group, the Item Count shown at the bottom of the Add Items dialog will increase to indicate the number of items being added. If both "MyFirstTag" and "MySecondTag" were added, the item count should be 2. 3. Upon completion, click OK. Note: Users should now be able to access data from the server using the two tags that were defined.

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Note: The first tag, "MyFirstTag," should contain a changing value. The second tag should be zero at this point. If users only needed to test the reading of an OPC item, they are now finished. If, however, users desired to change an OPC item, they can use one of the write methods to send new data to the OPC item.

Writing Data to the OPC Server

The OPC Quick Client supports two methods for writing data to an OPC server: Synchronous Writes and Asynchronous Writes. Synchronous Writes perform a write operation on the OPC server and wait for it to complete. Asynchronous Writes perform a write on the OPC server but do not wait for the write to complete. Either method can be chosen when writing data to an OPC item: the different write methods are more of a factor in OPC client application design. 1. To start, first select the item. Then, right-click and select Synchronous or Asynchronous Writes. For the purpose of this example, right-click on "MyFirstTag" and select Asynchronous Write.

Note: Although the Asynchronous 2.0 Write dialog is displayed, the value will continue to update. 2. To enter a new value in for this item, click Write Value and then enter a different value. 3. Once finished, click Apply to write the data. This will allow users to continue writing new values, whereas clicking OK writes the new value but also closes the dialog. 4. Upon completion, click OK. Note: If no new data has been entered, clicking OK will not send data to the server.

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At this point, all of the basic steps involved in building and testing an OPC project have been discussed. Users are encouraged to continue testing various features of the server and the OPC Quick Client for greater understanding and comprehension. For more information on the OPC Quick Client, refer to its help documentation. At this point, users can start developing the OPC application. If using Visual Basic, refer to the supplied example projects. These two projects provide both a simple and complex example of how OPC technology can be used directly in Visual Basic applications.

New Channel - Identification

This server supports the use of simultaneous multiple communications drivers. Each protocol or driver used in a project is called a Channel, which refers to a specific communications driver. A server project can consist of many channels, each with either unique communications drivers or with the same. A channel acts as the basic building block of an OPC link. Its properties control parameters such as communications port, baud rate and parity.

In a server project, each Channel Name must be unique and can be up to 256 characters long. Although descriptive names are usually a good idea, some OPC client applications may have a limited display window for browsing an OPC server's tag space. Note: The channel name entered will be part of the OPC browser information.

New Channel - Device Driver

After a name has been entered for the new channel, a communications driver must be selected from the "Device driver:" drop-down list. The drop-down list's contents depend on the communications drivers currently installed on the PC. The list will contain the drivers available for use in the server project.

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Since the server supports the use of simultaneous multiple communications drivers, users can add a number of channels to the project. It is not necessary to select a different communications driver for each channel. Many of the communications drivers available for the server support operation on either multiple communications ports or across multiple network connections. If the driver chosen does not support multiple channels (or if the number of supported channels has been exceeded) the driver will display a dialog stating so. Another server feature is the ability to run Channel Diagnostics. To make diagnostic information available to the OPC application, select the Enable Diagnostics check box. When diagnostic functions are enabled, Diagnostic Tags will be available for use within client applications. A Diagnostic window will also be available when this feature is enabled. For more information, refer to OPC Diagnostic Window.

New Channel - Communications

After a device driver has been selected, users must configure its communications. The server supports several mediums for communications; thus, the Communications dialog's format will vary depending on the driver's requirements.

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For Serial based drivers, the Communications dialog is used to set the Serial Port, Baud rate, Data bits, Parity, Stop bits and RTS/DTR Flow Control. Note: The dialog's additional options allow users to select and use dial-up Modem support or Ethernet Encapsulation for connecting to devices via Serial to Ethernet terminal servers. For more information, refer to Using a Modem in the Server Project and Device Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation.

New Channel - Summary

The Channel Summary dialog allows users to review the selections they have made while defining the channel. If a mistake is found upon review, users can simply click the Back button until the required dialog is displayed. After making changes, users can click the Next button to return to the Summary page. Once satisified with the Channel Summary, click Finish.

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New Device - Name

A Device Name can be the same from one channel to the next; however, each device under a channel must have a unique name. The Device Name is a user-defined logical name for the device that can be up to 256 characters long. While long descriptive names are generally good, some OPC client applications may have a limited display window when browsing the tag space of an OPC server. Note: The device name and channel name are part of the browse tree information.

Note: Within an OPC client, the combination of channel name and device name would appear as "ChannelName.DeviceName".

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New Device - Model

The Model parameter is used to select the device model associated with the Device ID. The Model selection dropdown menu's contents will vary depending on the chosen communication driver. If a driver does not support model selection, this option will be unavailable. If the communication driver does support multiple models, users should match the model selection to the physical device. If the device being used is not represented in the model drop-down list, select a model that conforms closest to the target device. This can be determined from the specific driver's help documentation. Note: Some drivers support an Open model, which allows users to communicate without knowing the target device's specific details.

Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changes at any time. If the communications driver supports multiple device models, the model selection can only be changed if there are currently no client applications connected to the device. Since the device is being added at this time, any model can be selected. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing parameters.

New Device - ID
The Device ID parameter is used to specify a device's driver-specific station or node. The type of ID entered will vary depending on the communication driver being used. For example, many communication drivers use a numeric value. As shown in the image below, when a driver supports a Numeric ID, the menu option allows users to enter a numeric value. The numeric value's format can be changed to suit the needs of either the application or the communication driver's characteristics. The format is set by the driver by default. Possible formats include Decimal, Octal and Hexadecimal.

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If the communications driver is either Ethernet-based or supports an unconventional station or node name, the dialog shown below may be displayed. In this case, the Device ID is a TCP/IP ID. TCP/IP or UDP IDs consist of four values separated by periods. Each value has a range of 0 to 255. Some Device IDs are string based. Note: Depending on the communications driver being used, there may be more parameters that need to be defined in the New Device - ID dialog. For more information on the driver's Device ID, refer to its help documentation.

Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time. Any changes made to the Device ID will take effect immediately. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing parameters.

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

The Scan Mode parameters determine the device's scan rate. Users can specify whether to use the scan rate that is requested by the client, to define a maximum scan rate that can be used, or to force all tags to be scanned at the specified rate. The default setting is Respect client specified scan rate.

See Also: Device Properties - Scan Mode

New Device - Timing

Device Timing parameters allow a driver's response to error conditions to be tailored to the application's needs. The environment in which the application runs may require changes to the timing parameters. Factors such as electrically generated noise, modem delays and bad physical connections can all influence how many errors or timeouts a communications driver may encounter. The timing parameters are specific to each configured device.

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Note: For most projects, the default Timeout settings work well. If users find that the project takes too long to time out a device or that there are too many timeouts, they can adjust the settings to improve performance.

New Device - Summary

The Device Summary page allows users to review the selections that have been made for the device. If a mistake is found upon review, users can simply click the Back button until the required dialog is displayed. After making changes, users can click the Next button to return to the Summary page. Once satisified with the Device Summary, click Finish.

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

To access the Server Options tabs, click Tools | Options. These settings are configured on an individual basis. For more information, select a link from the list below. Options - General Options - Runtime Connection

Options - General
This dialog is used to specify general server options (such as when to establish a connection with the Runtime, when to back up saved Configuration project files, and what conditions will invoke warning pop-ups).

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Immediately attempt to establish a Runtime connection on start: This parameter specifies whether the configuration tool will connect to the Runtime when started. When unchecked, users must connect manually. The default setting is checked. Keep track of the __ most recently used project files: This parameter specifies how many project files will be presented in the MRU (Most Recently Used) list of projects. The valid range is 1 to 16. The default setting is 8. Backup saved Configuration project files prior to overwriting: When checked, the system will automatically make a backup copy of the last saved Configuration project before it is overwritten with a new project file. The backup file's name and location will be displayed in the Event Log. CSV Import: The Delimiter setting specifies the Comma Separated Variable (CSV) that the server will use while importing and exporting tag data in a CSV file. Options include comma and semicolon. The default setting is comma. For more information, refer to Tag Management. Confirmations: This parameter specifies the conditions that will force the server to present warning pop-ups to an operator. Descriptions of the options are as follows:
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Deleting an object: When enabled, all delete operations will invoke a warning popup that requires confirmation before the delete operation can be completed.

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Disconnect: When enabled, all operations that would cause client applications to be disconnected from the server will invoke a warning popup. This popup requires confirmation before the disconnect sequence can be initiated. Prompt to save: When enabled, a popup will be invoked if the server is being shut down while the project has outstanding changes. Confirm Runtime project replacement: When connected to the Runtime and opening a project, this option will warn that the project can be opened and edited offline.

Options - Runtime Connection

This dialog is used to specify how connections to the Runtime are managed.

Description of the parameter is as follows:

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Show user login dialog: When checked, a valid user name and password will be required before the Configuration can be connected to the Runtime for project editing. The default setting is unchecked. Note: User names and permissions are assigned by the administrator. For more information, refer to User Manager.

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The following signal conditioning options are available through the iFIX Database Manager: 3BCD 4BCD 8AL 8BN 12AL 12BN 13AL 13BN 14AL 14BN 15AL 15BN 20P TNON

KEPServerEXV5 Help

Note: Linear and logarithmic scaling is available through the server for Static Tags only. For more information, refer to Tag Properties - Scaling and Static Tags (User-Defined).

3BCD Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 3-digit Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) value. 0-999. Scales 3-digit Binary Coded Decimal values to the database block's EGU range. Reads from a 3-digit BCD register. The Raw_value is then separated into three nibbles (4 bits) prior to scaling the value. Each nibble is examined for a value greater than 9 (A-F hex). If a hexadecimal value between A and F is found, a range alarm is generated, indicating the value is not within BCD range. Otherwise, the value is scaled with the following algorithm: Result=((Raw_value/999) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 3-digit BCD register using the following algorithm: Result=(((InputData-Lo_egu) / Span_egu) * 999 + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

Write Algorithm

4BCD Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 4-digit Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) value. 0-9999. Scales 4-digit Binary Coded Decimal values to the database block's EGU range. Reads from a 4-digit BCD register. The Raw_value is then separated into four nibbles (4 bits) prior to scaling the value. Each nibble is examined for a value greater than 9 (A-F hex). If a hexadecimal value between A and F is found, a range alarm is generated, indicating the value is not within BCD range. Otherwise, the value is scaled with the following algorithm: Result=((Raw_value/9999) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 4-digit BCD register using the following algorithm:

Write Algorithm

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Result=(((InputData-Lo_egu) / Span_egu) * 9999 + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

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8AL Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 8-bit binary number. 0-255. Scales 8-bit binary values to the database block's EGU range. Reads from a 16-bit register using the same algorithm as 8BN, and returns a status indicating whether the value is out of range and in an alarm state, or OK. Result=((Raw_value/255) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 16-bit register using the same algorithm as 8BN, and returns a status indicating whether the value is out of range and in an alarm state, or OK. Result=(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 255) + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

Write Algorithm

8BN Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 8-bit binary number. 0-255. Scales 8-bit binary values to the database block's EGU range. Ignores the most significant byte. Reads from a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =((Raw_value/255) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to an 8-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 255) + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

Write Algorithm

12AL Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 12-bit binary number. 0-4095. Scales 12-bit binary values to the database block's EGU range. Reads from a 16-bit register using the same algorithm as 12BN, and returns a status indicating whether the value is out of range and in an alarm state, or OK. Result=((Raw_value/4095) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 16-bit register using the same algorithm as 12BN, and returns a status indicating whether the value is out of range and in an alarm state, or OK.

Write Algorithm

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Result=(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 4095) + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

12BN Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling 12-bit binary number. 0-4095. Scales 12-bit binary values to the database block's EGU range. Ignores the most significant nibble (4-bits). Out of range value are treated as 12-bit values. For example, 4096 is treated as 0 because the four most significant bits are ignored. Reads from a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =((Raw_value/4095) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 4095) + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

Read Algorithm

Write Algorithm

13AL Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 13-bit binary number. 0-8191. Scales 13-bit binary values to the database block's EGU range. Reads from a 16-bit register using the same algorithm as 13BN, and returns a status indicating whether the value is out of range and in an alarm state, or OK. Result=((Raw_value/8191) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 16-bit register using the same algorithm as 13BN, and returns a status indicating whether the value is out of range and in an alarm state, or OK. Result=(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 8191) + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

Write Algorithm

13BN Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 13-bit binary number. 0-8191. Scales 13-bit binary values to the database block's EGU range. Ignores the most significant 3 bits. Reads from a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =((Raw_value/8191) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu.

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Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 8191) + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

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14AL Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 14-bit binary number. 0-16383. Scales 14-bit binary values to the database block's EGU range. Reads from a 16-bit register using the same algorithm as 14BN, and returns a status indicating whether the value is out of range and in an alarm state, or OK. Result=((Raw_value/16383) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 16-bit register using the same algorithm as 14BN, and returns a status indicating whether the value is out of range and in an alarm state, or OK. Result=(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 16383) + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

Write Algorithm

14BN Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 14-bit binary number. 0-16383. Scales 14-bit binary values to the database block's EGU range. Ignores the most significant 2 bits. Reads from a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result=((Raw_value/16383) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result=(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 16383) + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

Write Algorithm

15AL Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 15-bit binary number. 0-32767. Scales 15-bit binary values to the database block's EGU range. Reads from a 16-bit register with alarming using the same algorithm as 15BN, and returns a status indicating whether the value is out of range and in an alarm state, or OK.

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Result=((Raw_value/32767) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block.

KEPServerEXV5 Help

Write Algorithm

Writes to a 16-bit register with alarming using the same algorithm as 15BN, and returns a status indicating whether the value is out of range and in an alarm state, or OK. Result=(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 32767) + .5.

Write Algorithm Variables

Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

15BN Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 15-bit binary number. 0-32767. Scales 15-bit binary values to the database block's EGU range. Ignores the most significant bit. Reads from a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =((Raw_value/32767) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 32767) + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

Write Algorithm

20P Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 6400 32000 Clamp. 6400 32000. Scales binary values to the database block's EGU range. Clamps value to 6400 32000 range. Reads from a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =(((Raw_value-6400)/25600) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 25600) + 6400.5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

Write Algorithm

TNON Signal Conditioning

Description Input Range Scaling Read Algorithm 0 32000 Clamp. 0 32000. Scales binary values to the database block's EGU range. Clamps value to 0 32000 range. Reads from a 16-bit register using the following algorithm:

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Result =((Raw_value/32000) * Span_egu) + Lo_egu. Read Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the database block's low engineering value. Span_egu -the span of the engineering values. Raw_value-the value stored in the field device's register. Result-the scaled value stored in the database block. Writes to a 16-bit register using the following algorithm: Result =(((InputData-Lo_egu)/Span_egu) * 32000) + .5. Write Algorithm Variables Lo_egu-the low engineering value. Span_egu-the span of the engineering values. InputData-the database block's current value. Result-the value sent to the process hardware.

Write Algorithm

Project Startup for iFIX Applications

The server's iFIX interface has been enhanced to provide iFIX users with better startup performance. This enhancement applies to iFIX applications that use Analog Output (AO), Digital Output (DO), and/or Alarm Values that were previously initialized improperly on startup. The server maintains a special iFIX configuration file for the default server project that contains all items that will be accessed by the iFIX client. This configuration file is used to automatically start scanning items before iFIX requests item data. Therefore, data updates that are only requested once (such as AO/DO) will have an initial value when requested by iFIX. For information on using this feature for existing iFIX projects, refer to the instructions below. 1. To start, export the PDB database from the iFIX Database Manager. 2. Next, re-import the exported file so that each item in the database will be re-validated with the server. 3. In the Confirm Tag Replacement message box, select Yes to all. Note: A new configuration file will be created in the same folder as the default server project file, containing the name "default_FIX.ini". 4. Depending on how long it takes to read an initial value for all the items in the project, it may be necessary to delay the start of SAC processing. Doing so will allow the server enough time to retrieve all initial updates before the iFIX client requests data from the server. For more information on the specific iFIX version, refer to the iFIX documentation. 5. Next, restart both the iFIX application and the server to put the changes into effect. Note: For new projects (or when adding additional items to an existing iFIX database) users do not need to perform the steps described above. The item will be validated by the server upon its addition to the database. If valid, the server will add the item to the configuration file.

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

To access the Project Properties tabs, click File | Project Properties. For more information, select a link from the list below. Project Project Project Project Project Project Project Project Project Properties Properties Properties Properties Properties Properties Properties Properties Properties Identification OPC DA Settings OPC DA Compliance DDE FastDDE/SuiteLink iFIX PDB Settings OPC UA OPC AE OPC .NET Beta

Project Properties - Identification

The Project Properties - Identification dialog is used to attach a title and comment to a project for reference. Although the Title field supports a string of up 64 characters, the Comments field has no practical limit. Limiting the comment to the area available within the comment box, however, will improve project load time.

Project Properties - OPC DA Settings

This server supports the OPC Foundation's Data Access Specifications for 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 simultaneously. While this provides the utmost level of compatibility, there may be times when forcing the server to use one method over another is necessary. The OPC DA Options dialog is used to make these selections.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows.

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Enable OPC 1.0: When enabled, this allows the server to accept OPC client connections from OPC clients that support the 1.0 specification. The 1.0 operation is enabled by default. Enable OPC 2.0: When enabled,allows the server to accept OPC client connections from OPC clients that support the 2.0 specification. The 2.0 operation is enabled by default. Enable OPC 3.0: When enabled, allows the server to accept OPC client connections from OPC clients that support the 3.0 specification. The 3.0 operation is enabled by default. Include Hints:When enabled, this allows OPC client applications to browse the address formatting Hints available for each communications driver. The Hints provide a visual quick reference on how a particular device's data can be addressed. This can be useful when entering Dynamic Tags from the OPC client. The hint items are not valid OPC tags. Some OPC client applications may try to add the Hint tags to their tag database. When this occurs, the client will receive an error from the server. This is not a problem for most clients, although it can cause others to stop adding tags automatically or report errors. Users can prevent this from occurring by turning the Hints On or Off. This option is disabled by default. Include Tag Properties: When enabled, this allows OPC client applications to browse the tag properties available for each tag in the address space. This setting is disabled by default. Shut down wait timeout: This allows users to configure how long the server will wait for an OPC client to return from the server shut down event. If the client application does not return within the timeout period, the server will complete its shutdown and exit. The valid range is 10 to 60 seconds. The default is 15 seconds. Wait for synchronous request: This parameter allows users to configure how long the server will wait for a synchronous Read or Write operation to complete. If a synchronous operation is in progress and the timeout is exceeded, the server will force the operation to complete with a failure to the OPC client. This prevents OPC clients from appearing to become locked up when using synchronous operations. The valid range is 5 to 60 seconds. The default is 15 seconds.

Project Properties - OPC DA Compliance

The server has been designed to provide the highest level of compatibility with the OPC Foundation's specifications. In testing however it has been found that being fully compatible with the specification and working with all OPC client applications is a different matter. The OPC DA Compliance option allows users to tailor the operation of the server to better meet the needs of rare OPC clients. Normally these options will not need to be adjusted for a majority of the OPC client applications users will encounter. The OPC compliancy dialog appears as shown below.

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Descriptions of the parameters are as follows.

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Perform the following operations is the master enabling switch for the options present in the list box. When enabled, the server will set all options to conform to OPC compliancy. This setting is not enabled by default. When enabled, Reject unsupported Language IDs only allows Language IDs that are natively supported by the server. If the OPC client application attempts to add an OPC group to the server and receives a general failure, it is possible the client has given the server a Language ID that is not natively supported. If this occurs, the server will reject the group addition. To resolve this particular issue, disable the compliant feature to force the server to accept any Language ID. When enabled, Ignore dead-band when returning data for cache needs allows the server to ignore the dead-band setting on OPC groups added to the server. For some OPC clients, passing the correct value for dead-band causes problems that may result in the OPC client (such as, having good data even though it does not appear to be updating frequently or at all). This condition is rare. As such, the selection should normally be left in its default disabled state. When enabled, Return all browse items regardless of read-write filter causes the server to return all tags to an OPC client application when a browse request is made, regardless of the access filter applied to the OPC clients tag browser. When enabled, Data type support for 2.05a causes the server to adhere to the data type requirements and expected behaviors for data type coercion that were added to the 2.05a specification. When enabled, Return synchronous device read failure if one or more items would result in bad quality causes the server to return a failure if one or more items for a synchronous device Read results in a bad quality read. Compliance requires the server to return success, indicating that the server could complete the request even though the data for one or more items may include a bad and/or uncertain quality. When enabled, Return initial updates for items in a single callback causes the server to return all outstanding initial item updates in a single callback. When not selected, the server returns initial updates as they are available (which could result in multiple callbacks). When enabled, Respect Language ID set by client when performing data type conversions determines whether the server uses the Locale ID of the running Windows Operating System or the Locale ID set by the OPC client when performing data type conversions. For example, a string representing a floating point number such as 1,200 would be converted to One Thousand - Twelve Hundred if converted using English metrics, but would be One and Two-Tenths if converted using German metrics. Thus, if

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German software is running on an English OS, users need to determine how the comma will be handled. This setting allows for such flexibility. By default, and due to historical implementation, the server respects the Locale ID of the operating system.
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When enabled, Data change callback is passed item-level error=S_FALSE for items with bad quality causes the server to return S_FALSE in the item error array for items without good quality. This setting will default to True for existing projects that are set to full compliance, and False for those that are not. When set to False, the legacy behavior of returning E_FAIL (0x80004005) will occur.

Project Properties - DDE

While the server is first and foremost an OPC server, there are still a number of applications that require Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) to share data. The server provides access to DDE applications that support one of the following DDE formats: CF_Text, XL_Table and Advanced DDE. CF_Text and XL_Table are standard DDE formats developed by Microsoft for use with all DDE aware applications. Advanced DDE is a high performance format supported by a number of client applications specific to the industrial market. Important: In order for the DDE interface to connect with the server, the Runtime must be allowed to interact with the desktop. For more information, refer to How To... Allow Desktop Interactions.

DDE Option Dialog

The DDE Option dialog, which allows users to determine how the server provides DDE data, can be reached by clicking File | Project Properties | DDE in the server. Its parameters can be used to tailor the DDE operation to fit the application's needs.

Enable DDE Connections to the Server

This parameter determines whether the DDE server portion of the server will be enabled or disabled. If DDE operation is disabled, the server will not respond to any request for DDE data. If intending to use the server only as an OPC server, users may want to disable DDE operation. Doing so can increase the data's security and improve the server's overall performance. DDE is disabled by default. See Also: How To... Use DDE with the Server.

Enable Net DDE

This parameter determines whether Microsoft's Net DDE services will be enabled or disabled. If intending to use the server only with local DDE client applications, users should keep Net DDE disabled (the default setting). Starting the Net DDE services can be a time consuming process that can slow the startup of the server. If users do need to use Net DDE, enabling it will cause the server to automatically register its share names and start the Net

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DDE service manager. DDE shares will be removed when the server shuts down. See Also: How To... Use Net DDE with the Server.

Service Name
This parameter allows users to change how the server appears as an application name to DDE clients. This name will initially be set to allow compatibility with the previous versions of the server. If users need to replace an existing DDE server however, the server's service name can be changed to match the DDE server being replaced. The service name allows a string of 1 to 32 characters to be entered.

Formats
This parameter allows users to configure the format of DDE to provide to client applications. All three formats are enabled by default. This is particularly useful when users experience problems connecting a DDE client application to the server: each of the DDE formats can be disabled in order to isolate a specific format for testing purposes. Note: Every DDE aware application must support CF_Text at a minimum.

Update active clients

This interval setting is used to batch up DDE data so that it can be transferred to client applications. When using a DDE format performance gains only come when large blocks of server data can be sent in a single DDE response. To improve the ability of the server to gather a large block of data, the update timer can be set to allow a pool of new data to accumulate before a being sent to a client application. The valid range of the update timer is 20-60000 milliseconds. The default is 100 milliseconds.

Wait
This parameter is used to configure a timeout for the completion of DDE request. If a DDE client request (either a Read or Write operation) on the server cannot be completed within the specified timeout, an error will be returned to the DDE Client. The valid range is 1-30 seconds. The default is 15 seconds. Note: Server Runtime may have to be reinitialized for changes to take effect.

Project Properties - FastDDE/Suitelink

The server's support of Wonderware Corporation's FastDDE and SuiteLink simplifies the task of connecting the server with FactorySuite applications. The Wonderware connectivity toolkit is used to simultaneously provide OPC and FastDDE/SuiteLink connectivity while allowing for quick access to device data without the use of intermediary bridging software. Important: In order for the FastDDE interface to connect with the server, the Runtime must be allowed to interact with the desktop. For more information, refer to How To... Allow Desktop Interactions.

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Note: In order for both proper FastDDE/SuiteLink operation and for this page to be displayed in the server's File | Project Properties menu, the Wonderware FS2000 Common Components (or the InTouch Runtime Component version 8.0 or higher) must be installed on the PC.

General
Enable FastDDE/SuiteLink This parameter allows users to enable or disable support of the Client/Server protocols. When a Wonderware product is installed on the PC, this setting will be enabled by default. If the FastDDE/SuiteLink operation is disabled, the server will not respond to any request for FastDDE or SuiteLink data. If the server will only be used for OPC connectivity, we recommend that the this be disabled for better performance and security. Application Name This parameter is used to set the application's name. For FastDDE/SuiteLink, it is set to "server_runtime".

Timing
Update active clients This parameter determines how often new data will be sent to FastDDE/SuiteLink client applications. The range is 20-32000 milliseconds, with a default of 100 milliseconds. The timer allows FastDDE/SuiteLink data to be batched up for transfer to client applications. When using a Client/Server protocol like FastDDE or SuiteLink, performance gains only come when large blocks of server data can be sent in a single response. To improve the ability of the server to gather a large block of data, the update timer can be set to allow a pool of new data to accumulate before being sent to a client application. Note: The update rate applies to how often data is sent to the client application, not how often data is read from the device. The Scan Rate can be used to adjust how fast or slow the server acquires data from an attached device. See Also: Tag Properties - General.

Restore Defaults
This parameter restores the tab's current settings to their default values. Note: Server Runtime may have to be reinitialized for changes to take effect.

Project Properties - iFIX PDB Settings

The iFIX PDB Settings dialog contains parameters that allow users to adjust the behavior between the processing of the iFIX process database (PDB) tags and the server tags. To access this tab, click File | Project Properties.

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Note: The iFIX PDB Settings dialog will only be displayed in Project Properties if iFIX is installed on the computer. Important: In some cases, the Process Mode parameter must be set to System Service in order for the iFix PDB interface to work with the Runtime. For more information, refer to Process Modes.

Note: It is recommended that users keep the default values for each field. Users should also ensure that the settings meet the application's requirements.

General
Enable connectivity to iFix PDB. This parameter is used to enable or disable support of the Client/Server protocols. If the iFix PDB operation is disabled, the server will not respond to any request for iFix PDB data. For better performance and security when the server is only being used for OPC connectivity, disable this parameter. Wait __ seconds before timing out on requests between PDB and Driver This parameter specifies the amount of time that the iFIX PDB will wait for a response from an add, remove, Read or Write request before timing out. Once timed out, the request will be discarded on behalf of the server. A timeout can occur if the server is busy processing other requests or if the server has lost communications with iFIX PDB. In the case of lost communications, the iFIX PDB will automatically re-establish communications with the server so that successive timeouts do not occur. The valid range is 5-60 seconds. The default setting is 5 seconds. Enable Latched Data Normally, the iFIX application's data links will display a series of question marks (such as "????") if a communication failure has occurred. Users, however, may want to have a value displayed at all times. By enabling latched data, the last value successfully read will be preserved on the screen. This feature is disabled by default. Note: Data latching is not supported for AR and DR blocks.

iFIX PDB Read Inactivity

This parameter allows the server to automatically deactivate tags that have not been read by iFIX for the time period specified. This reduces unnecessary polling of the process hardware. When iFIX PDB Read Inactivity feature is enabled, the server will look through its list of tags every 15 seconds and will deactivate any that are idle. If iFIX has not performed a Read request of a tag for the time period specified, the tag is considered idle. Since the server checks for idle tags on a 15 second cycle, a tag may not get set inactive at precisely this time from its last Read; it could be up to 15 seconds longer depending on when the last read occurred in the check cycle. If

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iFIX requests data from a tag that has been previously deactivated, the server will reactivate the tag and resume polling the hardware. This feature is disabled by default upon driver install. Once this feature is enabled, however, it becomes applied to all projects. Users may specify an idle time of up to 6:23:59:59 (1 week). Caution: This feature is meant to be used with Register Tags only and can cause non-register tags to go off scan. To avoid this situation when using this feature, be sure to set the inactivity timer greater than the longest scan time configured in the iFIX database. Format [days:hours:minutes:seconds] Range 0:00:00:15 to 6:23:59:59 Default Value 0:00:00:15 (15 seconds)

Note: The time period can also be specified in seconds. For example, if 62 is entered, the page will show 0:00:01:02 when accessed next. Examples Time 20 seconds 1 minute 1 hour and 30 minutes 2 days Format 0:00:00:20 or 20 0:00:01:00 or 60 0:01:30:00 or 5400 2:00:00:00

Restore Defaults
This parameter restores the tab's current settings to their default values.

Project Properties - OPC UA

OPC Unified Architecture (UA) provides a platform independent interoperability standard. It is not a replacement for OPC Data Access (DA) technologies: for most industrial applications, UA will complement or enhance an existing DA architecture. The OPC UA tab displays the current OPC UA settings in the server. Note: To change a setting, click in the specific parameter's second column. This will invoke a drop-down menu that displays the options available.

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Server Interface
Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:
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Enable: When enabled, the UA server interface will be initialized and accept client connections. When disabled, the remaining parameters on this page will also be disabled. Log Diagnostics: When enabled, OPC UA stack diagnostics will be logged to the Event Log. This should only be enabled for debugging purposes.

Client Sessions
Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:
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Allow Anonymous Login: When disabled, this parameter specifies that user name and password information will be required to establish a connection. The default setting is enabled. Note: If this setting is disabled, users cannot login as the Default User in the User Manager. Users can login as the Administrator provided that a password is set in the User Manager and is used to login.

Max Connections: This parameter specifies the maximum number of supported connections. The valid range is 1 to 100. The default setting is 100. Session Timeouts: This parameter specifies the UA client's timeout limit for establishing a session. Values may be changed depending on the needs of the application. The default values are 15 to 60 seconds.
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Minimum: This parameter specifies the UA client's minimum timeout limit. The default setting is 15 seconds. Maximum: This parameter specifies the UA client's maximum timeout limit. The default setting is 60 seconds.

Tag cache timeout: This parameter specifies the tag cache timeout. The valid range is 0 to 60 seconds. The default setting is 5 seconds. Note: This timeout controls how long a tag will be cached after a UA client is done using it. In cases where UA clients Read/Write to unregistered tags at a set interval, users can improve performance by increasing the timeout. For example, if a client is reading an unregistered tag every 5 seconds, the tag cache timeout should be set to 6 seconds. Since the tag will not have to be recreated during each client request, performance will improve.

Browsing
Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:
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Return Tag Properties: When enabled, this parameter allows UA client applications to browse the tag properties available for each tag in the address space. This setting is disabled by default. Return Address Hints: When enabled, this parameter allows UA client applications to browse the address formatting hints available for each item. Although the hints are not valid UA tags, certain UA client applications may try to add them to the tag database. When this occurs, the client will receive an error from the server. This may cause the client to report errors or stop adding the tags automatically. To prevent this from occurring, make sure that this parameter is disabled. This setting is disabled by default.

Monitored Items
Description of the parameter is as follows:
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Max Data Queue Size: This parameter specifies the maximum number of data notifications that will be queued for an item. The valid range is 1 to 100. The default setting is 2. Note: The data queue is used when the monitored item's update rate is faster than the subscription's publish rate. For example, if the monitored item update rate is 1 second, and a subscription publishes every 10 seconds, then 10 data notifications will be published for the item every 10 seconds. Because queuing data consumes memory, this value should be limited when memory is a concern.

Subscriptions
Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Max Retransmit Queue Size: This parameter specifies the maximum number of publishes that will be queued per subscription. The valid range is 1 to 100. A value of zero will disable retransmits. The default setting is 0. Note: Subscription publish events are queued and retransmitted at the client's request. Because queuing consumes memory, this value should be limited when memory is a concern.

Max Notifications Per Publish: This parameter specifies the maximum number of notifications per publish. The valid range is 1 to 65536. The default setting is 65536. Note: This value may affect the connection's performance by limiting the size of the packets sent from the server to the client. In general, large values should be used for high bandwidth connections, and small values should be used for low bandwidth connections.

Note: For more information on OPCUA, refer to the OPCUA Configuration Manager help file.

Project Properties - OPC AE

Events are used to signal an occurrence in the server and are similar to data updates in OPC Data Access. The OPC AE functionality allows users to receive Simple Events from the server, including system startup and shutdown messages, warnings, errors and so forth. These events are then displayed in the Event Log. The OPC AE tab is used to specify a number of project-level AE settings. Changes made to these settings will take effect after all A&E clients disconnect from the server.

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Enable AE Connections to the Server: This parameter turns the OPC AE server on and off. Enable Simple Events: When checked, simple events will be made available to clients. When unchecked, the events will be sent. The default setting is checked. Max Subscription Buffer Size: This parameter specifies the maximum number of events that the A&E Plug-In will send to a client in one send call. The range is 0 to 65534. The default setting is 100. 0 means there is no limit. Min Subscription Buffer Time: This parameter specifies the minimum time between send calls to a client. The supported range is 1000-60000ms. The default setting is 1000ms.

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Min Keep-Alive Time: This parameter specifies the minimum amount of time between keep-alive messages sent from the server to the client. The default setting is 1000ms. Restore Defaults: This parameter restores the tab's current settings to their default values.

Note: The Alarms & Events Plug-In allows Alarms & Events (A&E) clients to receive A&E data from the OPC server. It is used to convert OPC server events into A&E format and to create custom alarms using OPC server tags. For more information, contact the OPC vendor.

Project Properties - OPC .NET Beta

To access the OPC .NET server settings through the Configuration, click File | Project Properties and then select the OPC .NET - Beta tab. Note: The OPC .NET Wrapper is in Beta.

Descriptions of the parameters are as follows:

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Enable: When checked, the OPC .NET Wrapper will be initialized and accept client connections.

Note 1: The OPC .NET Wrapper runs as a System Service called "xi_server_runtime.exe". It will only be started when the server starts and the option described above is enabled. Unlike OPC DA, clients cannot launch the server. Note 2: To use and install OPC .NET, Microsoft .NET 3.5 must be present on the machine prior to server installation.

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KEPServerEX V5 Help How Do I...

For more information, select a link from the list below. Allow Desktop Interactions Create and Use an Alias Optimize the Server Project Process Array Data Resolve Comm Issues When the DNS/DHCP Device Connected to the Server is Power Cycled Select the Correct Network Cable Use an Alias to Optimize a Project Use DDE with the Server Use Dynamic Tag Addressing Use Ethernet Encapsulation Use Net DDE Across a Network

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How To... Allow Desktop Interactions

Some communication interfaces require the server to interact with the desktop. For example, Windows Messaging Layer is used by DDE and FastDDE. It is important that the operating system be taken into consideration when choosing how to communicate with the desktop.

Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Later Operating Systems

In Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and later operating systems, services run in an isolated session that is inaccessible to users logged on to the console. These operating systems require that the process mode be set to Interactive. This allows the Runtime to run in the same user account as the current user. For information on changing the process mode, refer to Settings - Runtime Process.

Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Earlier Operating Systems

In Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and earlier operating systems, the process mode can remain set as a System Service. The Runtime's service, however, must be allowed to interact with the desktop. This is the preferred mode of operation since a user is not required to be logged on to the console in order for the server to start. For information on allowing a service to interact with the desktop, follow the instructions below. Note: These service settings only apply when the server is running in Service Mode. 1. To start, launch the Services snap-in (which is part of the Microsoft Management Console). To do so, click Start | Run. 2. Type "services.msc" and click OK. Then, locate the server by its name in the list of services. Open its context menu and select Properties. 3. Next, open the Log On tab and check Allow service to interact with desktop. Then, click Apply. 4. Click OK to exit. 5. Next, locate the Administration icon. Open its context menu and select Stop Runtime Service. 6. Then, re-open the context menu and select Start Runtime Service. See Also: Accessing the Administration Menu

How To... Create and Use an Alias

Complex Tag Reference Example
The image below displays a Complex Tag reference in the server.

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For example, to create a DDE link to an application for the "ToolDepth" tag, the DDE link must be entered as "<DDE service name>|_ddedata!Channel1.Device1.Machine1.Cell2.ToolDepth". Although the DDE link's simple <application>|<topic>!<item> format still exists, the content becomes more complex when optional tag groups and the channel name are required as part of the topic. The Alias Map allows a shorter version of the reference to be used in DDE client applications. For more information, refer to What is the Alias Map.

Creating Aliases for Complex Address Paths

For information on creating aliases to simplify Complex Tags' address paths, follow the instructions below. 1. In the server, click Edit | Alias Map.

2. Click the New Alias icon, which appears as

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3. Next, browse to the group or device that contains the item that will be referenced.

4. Enter an alias name that will represent the complex tag reference. This alias name can now be used in the client application to address the tag found in the server. 5. The complex topic and item name "_ddedata!Channel1.Device1.Machine1.Cell2" can be replaced by using the alias "Mac1Cell2". When applied to the example above, the DDE link in the application can be entered as "<DDE service name>|Mac1Cell2!ToolDepth". Note 1: If Net DDE is enabled, the Alias Map entries will be registered as DDE shares for use by remote applications. The names given to each Alias Map entry must not conflict with any existing DDE shares already defined on the server PC. For more information, refer to How to Use Net DDE Across a Network. Note 2: Although possible, it is not recommended that users create an alias that shares a name with a channel. The client's item will fail if it references a dynamic address using the shared name. For example, if an alias is named "Channel1" and is mapped to "Channel1.Device1," an item in the client that references "Channel1.Device1.<address>" will be invalid. The alias must be removed or renamed so that the client's reference can succeed. See Also: Alias Properties

How To... Optimize the Server Project

Nearly every driver of this server supports at least 100 channels; meaning, 100 COM/Serial Ports or 100 source sockets for Ethernet communications. To determine the number of supported channels available for each device, refer to the Driver Information under Server Summary Information. This server refers to communications protocols as a channel. Each channel defined in the application represents a separate path of execution in the server. Once a channel has been defined, a series of devices must then be defined under that channel. Each of these devices represents a single device from which data will be collected. While this approach to defining the application will provide a high level of performance, it won't take full advantage of the driver or the network. An example of how the application may appear when configured using a single channel is shown below.

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Each device appears under a single channel. In this configuration, the driver must move from one device to the next as quickly as possible in order to gather information at an effective rate. As more devices are added or more information is requested from a single device, the overall update rate begins to suffer.

KEPServerEXV5 Help

If the driver could only define one single channel, then the example shown above would be the only option available. Using multiple channels distributes, however, the data collection workload by simultaneously issuing multiple requests to the network. An example of how the same application may appear when configured using multiple channels to improve performance is shown below. Each device has now been defined under its own channel. In this new configuration, a single path of execution is dedicated to the task of gathering data from each device. If the application has fewer devices, it can be optimized exactly how it is shown here. The performance will improve even if the application has more devices than channels. While 1 device per channel is ideal, the application will still benefit from additional channels. Although by spreading the device load across all channels will cause the server to move from device to device again, it can now do so with far less devices to process on a single channel.

Important: This same process can be used to make multiple connections to one Ethernet device. Although the OPC Server may allow 100 channels for most drivers, the device ultimately determines the number of allowed connections. This constraint comes from the fact that most devices limit the number of supported connections. The more connections that are made to a device, the less time it will have to process request on each connect. This means that there can be an inverse tradeoff in performance as connections are added.

How To... Process Array Data

Many of the drivers available for this server allow clients to access data in an array format. Arrays allow the client application to request a specific set of contiguous data in one request. Arrays are one specific data type; thus, users would not have an array with a combination of Word and DWord data types. Furthermore, arrays are written to in one transaction. To use arrays in the server, the client application must support the ability to at least read array data.

Processing Array Data In a DDE Client

Array data is only available to the client when using CF_TEXT or Advanced DDE clipboard formats. For client applications using Advanced DDE, the number of elements in the array is specified in the sPACKDDE_ DATAHDR_TAG structure. Only single dimensional arrays are supported by this protocol. This structure should be used when poking array data to the server. For clients using CF_TEXT, one or two-dimensional arrays are supported. Data in each row is separated by a TAB (0x09) character and each row is terminated with a CR (0x0d) and a LF (0x0a) character. When a client wants to poke an array of data values, the text string written should have this delimiter format. When poking to an Array Tag in either format, the entire array does not need to be written, but the starting location is fixed. If attempting to poke data in an array format to a tag that was not declared as an array, only the first

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value in the array will be written. If attempting to poke more data than the tag's array size, only as much data as the tag's array size will be written. If attempting to poke data while leaving some data values blank, the server will use the last known value for that array element when writing back to the device. If the value in that register has been changed but has not been updated in the server, it will be overwritten with the old value. For this reason, it is best to be cautious when writing data to arrays.

Processing Array Data In an OPC Client

In OPC Clients that support arrays, the OPC item data value is actually a variant array data type. The OPC Client parses the array element data: some clients will create sub tags for display purposes. For example, if the OPC client created a tag in its database named 'Process,' and the associated OPC item was a single dimensional array of 5 elements, it might create 5 tags named 'Process_1', 'Process2,' and so forth. Other clients (such as the OPC Quick Client) may display the data as Comma Separated Values (CSV).

How To... Resolve Comm Issues When the DNS/DHCP Device Connected to the Server is Power Cycled
Certain drivers support DNS/DHCP resolution for connectivity, which allows users to assign unique Domain/Network names for identification purposes. When starting and connecting to the network, the devices will request an IP address from the Network DNS server. This process of resolving a domain name to an IP address for connectivity takes time. For greater speed, the operating system will cache all of the resolved IP/Domain names and then re-use them. The resolved names will be held in cache for two hours by default. Important: The server will fail to reconnect to a device when the name of the IP address that is associated with the device's Domain/Network changes. If this change is a result of the device being power cycled, it will acquire a new IP. This change may also be a result of the IP being manually changed on the device. In both cases, the IP address that was being used no longer exists. Because the server automatically flushes the cache every 30 seconds, the IP is forced to resolve. If this does not correct the issue, users can manually flush the cache by typing the command string "ipconfig /flushdns" in the PC's command prompt. Note: For more information, refer to the following Microsoft Support article Disabling and Modifying Client Side DNS Caching.

How To... Select the Correct Network Cable

Without prior experience of Ethernet enabled devices or Serial to Ethernet converters, users may find selecting the correct network cable a confusing task. There are generally two ways to determine the proper cable setup. If connecting to the device or converter through a network hub or switch, users will need Patch Cable. A Patch Cable gets its name from the days when a telephone operator-style board was used to patch or connect devices to each other. If connecting directly to the device from the PC, however, users will need a Crossover Cable. Both of these cables can be purchased from an electronic or PC supply store.

Cable Diagrams

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How To... Use an Alias to Optimize a Project

In order to get the best performance out of a project, it is recommended that each device be placed on its own channel. If a project needs to be optimized for communication after it has been created, it can be difficult to change the client application to reference the new item names. By using an alias map, however, users can allow the client to make the legacy request to the new Configuration. To start, follow the instructions below.

Unoptimized: Channel with multiple devices.

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Optimized: Channel with each device under a different channel. 1. To start, create a new channel for each device. Place the device under the new channel and then delete the original channel. 2. Next, create a New Alias for each device in the Alias Map. The Alias Name will be the original channel and device name separated by a period. For example, 'Channel1.Device1.'

Note: The server will validate any request for items against the Alias Map before responding back to the client application with an error that the item does not exist.

How To... Use DDE with the Server

Using DDE in Your Application
Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) is a Microsoft communications protocol that provides a method for exchanging data between applications running on a Windows operating system. The DDE client program opens a channel to the DDE server application and then requests item data using a hierarchy of the Application (Service) name, Topic name, and Item name.

Example 1: Accessing a Register Locally (Using the Default Topic)

The syntax is <application>|<topic>!<item> where:
l l l

application: DDE service name topic: _ddedata* item: Modbus.PLC1.40001

*This is the default topic for all DDE data that does not use an Alias Map entry.

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Note: An example of the syntax is "MyDDE|_ddedata!Modbus.PLC1.40001".

KEPServerEXV5 Help

Example 2: Accessing a Register Locally (Using an Alias Name as a Topic)

The syntax is <application>|<topic>!<item> where:
l l l

application: DDE service name topic: ModPLC1* item: 40001

*This is the topic using the Alias Map entry. Note: An example of the syntax is "MyDDE|ModPLC1!40001" . For additional possible syntax, refer to the DDE client's specific help documentation.

See Also:
Project Properties - DDE Project Properties - FastDDE & SuiteLink What is the Alias Map? Note: For information on how to connect to remote applications using DDE, refer to Using Net DDE Across a Network.

How To... Use Dynamic Tag Addressing

This server can also be used to dynamically reference a physical device data address from the server. The server will dynamically create a tag for the requested item. Users cannot browse for tags from one client that were dynamically added by another. Before adding tags dynamically, users should note the following:
l

The correct syntax must be used for the data address. For more information on the specific driver's syntax, refer to its help documentation. If users do not specify the requested item's data type, it will be set to the default setting by the application. For more information on the specific driver's supported data types, refer to its help documentation.

Note: In the examples below, the Simulator Driver is used with a channel name of 'Channel1' and a device name of 'Device1'.

Example 1:Using Dynamic Tag Addressing In a Non-OPC Client

To get data from register 'K0001' in the simulated device, use an Item ID of "Channel1.Device1.K001." The default data type for this register is Short. Since non-OPC Clients do not provide an update rate to the server, the Dynamic Tag's default update rate will be 100 msec. Both data type and update rate can be overridden after the dynamic request is sent. To override the tag defaults, use the commercial AT sign ('@') at the end of the item. If intending to add the register as a DWord (unsigned 32 bit) data type, simply use an Item ID of "Channel1.Device1.K0001@DWord." To change the default update rate to 1000 msec, use "Channel1.Device1.K0001@1000." To change both defaults, use "Channel1.Device1.K0001@DWord,1000." Note: The client application must be able to accept special characters like the '@' in its address space.

Example 2:Using Dynamic Tag Addressing In an OPC Client

In an OPC client, the same syntax can be used to override the data type if the client application does not provide a way to specify a data type when the OPC item is added. Since the item's update rate is not used in OPC, there is no need to override it. Note: The client application must be able to accept special characters like the '@' in its address space.

How To... Use Ethernet Encapsulation

Ethernet Encapsulation mode is designed to provide communications with serial devices connected to terminal servers on the Ethernet network. A terminal server is essentially a virtual serial port that converts TCP/IP messages on the Ethernet network to serial data. Once the message has been converted to serial form, users can connect standard devices that support serial communications to the terminal server. The diagram below shows how to employ Ethernet Encapsulation mode.

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Note: For unsolicited drivers that support Ethernet Encapsulation, users must configure the port and the protocol settings at the channel level. This allows the driver to bind to the specified port and process incoming requests from multiple devices. An IP address is not entered at the channel because the channel will accept incoming requests from all devices. Ethernet Encapsulation can be used over wireless network connections (such as 802.11b and CDPD packet networks) and has been developed to support a wide range of serial devices. By using a terminal server device, users can place RS-232 and RS-485 devices throughout the plant operations while still allowing a single localized PC to access the remotely mounted devices. Furthermore, Ethernet Encapsulation mode allows an individual Network IP address to be assigned to each device as needed. While using multiple terminal servers, users can access hundreds of serial devices from a single PC.

Configuring Ethernet Encapsulation Mode

To enable Ethernet Encapsulation mode, open Channel Properties and then select the Communications tab. In the Connection Type drop-down menu, select Ethernet Encap. Note: Only the drivers that support Ethernet Encapsulation will allow the option to be selected.

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Note: The server's multiple channel support allows up to 16 channels on each driver protocol. This allows users to specify one channel to use the local PC serial port and another channel to use Ethernet Encapsulation mode. Important: When Ethernet Encapsulation mode is selected, the serial port settings (such as baud rate, data bits, and parity) will be unavailable. After the channel has been configured for Ethernet Encapsulation mode, users must configure the device for Ethernet operation. When a new device is added to the channel, the Ethernet Encapsulation settings can be used to select an Ethernet IP address, an Ethernet Port number, and the Ethernet protocol. Note: The terminal server being used must have its serial port configured to match the requirements of the serial device that will be attached to the terminal server.

How To... Use Net DDE Across a Network

DDE provides a way to share data between Windows applications as long as they exist on the same machine. Net DDE shares data from a DDE server located on a local PC with DDE client applications located on remote PCs. More information on how to configure a PC to support Net DDE is available online.

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KEPServerEX V5 Help Error Descriptions

The following error/warning messages may be generated. Click on the link for a description of the message.

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Server Runtime Error Messages

'<driver name>' device driver was not found or could not be loaded '<server name>' Server Started '<server runtime>' successfully configured to run as a system service '<server runtime>' successfully removed from the service control manager database Attempt to add DDE item '<item name>' failed Attempt to add FastDDE/SuiteLink item '<tag name>' failed Attempt to add OPC client item '<item name>' failed Attempting to automatically generate tags for device '<device name>' Auto generation for tag '<tag name>' already exists and will not be overwritten Auto generation produced too many overwrites, stopped posting error messages Channel diagnostics started on channel '<channel name>' Channel diagnostics stopped on channel '<channel name>' Completed automatic tag generation for device '<device name>' Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' as Default User has ended Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' demoted to Read Only Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' promoted to Write Access Configuration session started by '<user name>' Configuration TCP/IP port number changed to '<port number>' Data collection is '<enabled/disabled>' on device '<device name>' DDE client attempt to add topic '<topic>' failed Delete object '<item name>' failed Demo timer started. '<days>' '<hours>' '<minutes>' '<seconds>' Demo timer updated. '<time remaining>' Demonstration time period has expired Device '<device name>' has been auto-demoted Device '<device name>' has been auto-promoted to determine if communications can be re-established Failed to upload project XML FLEXnet Licensing Service must be enabled to process your license Module '<module>' is unsigned or has a corrupt signature Move object '<group>' to '<group>' failed No device driver DLLs were loaded Rejecting attempt to delete referenced object '<item name>' Rejecting attempt to move referenced object '<item name>' Runtime project replaced from '<project location>' Simulation mode is '<enabled/disabled>' on device '<device name>' Starting '<driver name>' device driver Starting '<plug-in name>' plug-in Stopping '<driver name>' device driver Stopping '<plug-in name>' plug-in The tier information for feature '<feature>' is invalid Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device name>'. Reason: '<reason>' Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device name>'. The device is not responding Unable to load project '<project name>' Unable to write to item '<item name>' Update of object '<object>' failed Write request rejected on item reference '<item name>' since the device it belongs to is disabled Write request rejected on Read Only item reference '<item name>'

Server Configuration Error Messages

'<device name>' device driver loaded successfully '<driver name>' device driver unloaded from memory '<driver name>' device driver was not found or could not be loaded '<driver name>' driver does not currently support XML persistence '<plug-in>' plug-in was not found or could not be loaded A client application has '<enabled/disabled>' auto-demotion on device '<device name>' Closing project '<project name>'

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Created backup of project '<project name>' to '<file location>' Duplicate Channel Wizard page ID '<ID number>' detected Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': '<tag name>' is not a valid tag group name Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': '<tag name>' is not a valid tag name Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': Missing address Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': Tag or group name exceeds 256 characters Failed to reset channel diagnostics Failed to retrieve Runtime project Invalid Ethernet encapsulation IP '<IP address>' Invalid or missing Modem Configuration on channel '<channel name', substituting '<modem>' Invalid XML document '<XML name>' Maximum channel count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Maximum device count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Maximum Runtime tag count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Modem initialization failed on channel '<channel name>' Opening project '<project name>' Required schema file '<schema name>' not found Runtime project update failed Starting OPC diagnostics Stopping OPC diagnostics Unable to add channel due to driver-level failure Unable to add device due to driver-level failure Unable to backup project file to '<file name/location>' Unable to backup project file to '<file path>' Unable to begin device discovery on channel '<Channel Name>' Unable to launch OPC Quick Client [Path: '<path>' OS Error: '<error>'] Unable to load driver DLL '<driver name>' Unable to load the '<driver name>' driver because more than one copy exists ('<driver name>' and '<driver name>' Unable to use network adapter '<adapter>' on channel '<channel name>'. Using default network adapter Validation error on '<tag name>': Invalid scaling parameters

General Operation System Error Messages

, Error control , Forced error control , Hardware flow control , Software flow control Dialing '<phone number>' on line '<modem name>' Dialing aborted on '<modem name>' Dialing on line '<modem name>' cancelled by user Failed to open modem line '<modem name>' [TAPI error] Hardware error on line '<modem name>' Incoming call detected on line '<modem name>' Line '<modem name>' connected Line '<modem name>' connected at '<baud rate>' baud Line '<modem name>' disconnected Line '<modem name>' is already in use Line dropped at remote site on '<modem name>' Modem line closed: '<modem name>' Modem line opened: '<modem name>' Modem to Modem DCE: '<connection parameters>' MODEMSETTINGS unavailable No comm handle provided on connect for line '<modem name>' No dial tone on '<modem name>' Remote line is busy on '<modem name>' Remote line is not answering on '<modem name>' TAPI configuration has changed, reinitializing... TAPI line initialization failed: '<modem name>' The phone number is invalid '<phone number>' Unable to apply Modem Configuration on line '<modem name>' Unable to dial on line '<modem name>'

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Unable to start Net DDE

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iFIX Error Messages

Attempt to add iFIX PDB item '< item name>' failed Failed to enable iFIX PDB support for this server [OS Error = n] Unable to enable iFIX PDB support for this server Unable to read '<tag name>' on device '<channel name/device name>'

Server Runtime Error Messages

The following error/warning messages may be generated. Click on the link for a description of the message.

Server Runtime Error Messages

'<driver name>' device driver was not found or could not be loaded '<server name>' Server Started '<server runtime>' successfully configured to run as a system service '<server runtime>' successfully removed from the service control manager database Attempt to add DDE item '<item name>' failed Attempt to add FastDDE/SuiteLink item '<tag name>' failed Attempt to add OPC client item '<item name>' failed Attempting to automatically generate tags for device '<device name>' Auto generation for tag '<tag name>' already exists and will not be overwritten Auto generation produced too many overwrites, stopped posting error messages Channel diagnostics started on channel '<channel name>' Channel diagnostics stopped on channel '<channel name>' Completed automatic tag generation for device '<device name>' Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' as Default User has ended Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' demoted to Read Only Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' promoted to Write Access Configuration session started by '<user name>' Configuration TCP/IP port number changed to '<port number>' Data collection is '<enabled/disabled>' on device '<device name>' DDE client attempt to add topic '<topic>' failed Delete object '<item name>' failed Demo timer started. '<days>' '<hours>' '<minutes>' '<seconds>' Demo timer updated. '<time remaining>' Demonstration time period has expired Device '<device name>' has been auto-demoted Device '<device name>' has been auto-promoted to determine if communications can be re-established Failed to upload project XML FLEXnet Licensing Service must be enabled to process your license Module '<module>' is unsigned or has a corrupt signature Move object '<group>' to '<group>' failed No device driver DLLs were loaded Rejecting attempt to delete referenced object '<item name>' Rejecting attempt to move referenced object '<item name>' Runtime project replaced from '<project location>' Simulation mode is '<enabled/disabled>' on device '<device name>' Starting '<driver name>' device driver Starting '<plug-in name>' plug-in Stopping '<driver name>' device driver Stopping '<plug-in name>' plug-in The tier information for feature '<feature>' is invalid Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device name>'. Reason: '<reason>' Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device name>'. The device is not responding Unable to load project '<project name>' Unable to write to item '<item name>' Update of object '<object>' failed Write request rejected on item reference '<item name>' since the device it belongs to is disabled Write request rejected on Read Only item reference '<item name>'

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KEPServerEXV5 Help '<driver name>' device driver was not found or could not be loaded
Error Type:
Warning

Possible Cause:
A project using a driver that has not been installed or that is not compatible with the current server/driver version was started but could not properly launch.

Solution:
1. If the driver is not installed, re-run the install and select the driver. 2. If the driver is installed, verify the version that the project was created with and install a compatible version on the running PC.

Note:
Every attempt is made to ensure backwards compatibility in the server so that projects created in older versions may be loaded in newer versions. However, since new versions of the server and driver may have properties and configurations that do not exist in older version, users may not be able to open or load a project created in a newer version of the server in an older version.

'<server name>' Server Started

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The server Runtime has started successfully.

Solution:
N/A.

'<server runtime>' successfully configured to run as a system service

Error Type:
Informational

Possible Cause:
The server runtime process has been switched from "Interactive" to "System service" mode.

Solution:
None.

'<server runtime>' successfully removed from the service control manager database
Error Type:
Informational

Possible Cause:
The server runtime process has been switched from "System Service" to "Interactive" mode.

Solution:
None.

Attempt to add DDE item '<item name>' failed

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Runtime

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Possible Cause:
An attempt to add an item from a DDE client failed.

154

Solution:
1. If attempting to add an item dynamically to a tag group that is not supported in the server: Add Dynamic Tags to the device level only. 2. If attempting to add an item dynamically but used the incorrect address syntax: Verify the syntax and try again. 3. If attempting to add an item that was not created as a static tag in the server: Add the tag in the server and then try adding the item from the client. 4. If attempting to add an item but used incorrect syntax: Correct the syntax and try again.

Attempt to add FastDDE/SuiteLink item '<tag name>' failed

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
1. The user attempted to add an item from a FastDDE/Suitelink client that was not a static tag in the server. 2. The user attempted to add an item from a FastDDE/Suitelink client that had incorrect syntax.

Solution:
1. Check the item syntax and correct if necessary. 2. Verify that the item is a valid address in the driver. If not, either use the correct address or remove the request. 3. Verify that the static tag exists in the project. If not, either add it or remove the request.

Attempt to add OPC Client item '<item name>' failed

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
An attempt to add an item from an OPC client failed.

Solution:
1. If attempting to add an item dynamically to a tag group that is not supported in the server: Add Dynamic Tags to the device level only. 2. If attempting to add an item dynamically but used the incorrect address syntax: Verify the syntax and try again. 3. If attempting to add an item that was not created as a static tag in the server: Add the tag in the server and then try adding the item from the client. 4. If attempting to add an item but used incorrect syntax: Correct the syntax and try again.

Attempting to automatically generate tags for device '<device name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The server is attempting to generate tags for the specified device.

Solution:
N/A.

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KEPServerEXV5 Help Auto generation for tag '<tag name>' already exists and will not be overwritten
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
Although the server is regenerating tags for the tag database, it has been set not to overwrite tags that already exist.

Solution:
If this is not the desired action, change the setting in the Database Creation Properties dialog.

Auto generation produced too many overwrites, stopped posting error messages
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
To keep from filling the error log, the server has stopped posting error messages on tags that cannot be overwritten during automatic tag generation.

Solution:
N/A.

Channel diagnostics started on channel '<channel name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
Channel diagnostics have started successfully on the channel.

Solution:
N/A.

Channel diagnostics stopped on channel '<channel name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
Channel diagnostics have stopped successfully on the channel.

Solution:
N/A.

Completed automatic tag generation for device '<device name>'

Error Type:
Informational

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Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The server successfully generated tags for the tag database.

Solution:
N/A.

Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' as Default User has ended

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The specified user connected to the Runtime has ended the session.

Solution:
None.

Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' demoted to Read Only

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The connected user has been idle for more than 15 minutes, and so the server automatically demoted them.

Solution:
When connected with the Configuration, do not leave the connection idle if in write access mode.

Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' promoted to Write Access

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
A user that was connected to the Runtime with Write Access has disconnected or demoted due to being idle.

Solution:
N/A.

Configuration session started by '<user name>'

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
A user on the local or remote PC has started a configuration session using a user login with Read/Write access to the Runtime project.

Solution:

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The first user to connect to the Runtime with a Configuration will have Read/Write access to the Runtime all other users to connect will have Read Only access.

Configuration TCP/IP port number changed to '<port number>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The port number that is used to connect the Configuration to the Runtime has been changed.

Solution:
The port was changed in the Administration settings. Change the port number in the Configuration Options in the Runtime Connection Options to match the new Runtime port.

Data collection is '<enabled/disabled>' on device '<device name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
1. A client application has programmatically Enabled/Disabled Data Collection for the specified device. 2. The user's Configuration has Enabled/Disabled Data Collection for the specified device.

Solution:
N/A.

DDE client attempt to add topic '<topic>' failed

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made by a DDE client to add or reference a topic that does not exist.

Solution:
1. Verify that an alias has been created in the alias map with the same name as the topic. 2. The global topic is '_ddeData.' If using it, make sure to use the correct syntax. It is not case sensitive.

Delete object '<item name>' failed

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
An attempt to remove an object failed.

Solution:
Reference the item by something else. The user may not have privileges to remove the object.

Demo timer started. '<days>' '<hours>' '<minutes>' '<seconds>'

Error Type:

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Warning

158

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The server has started in demo mode with the specified time remaining in the demo period.

Solution:
1. If evaluating the server, no action needs to be taken. 2. If this is a production machine, activate the product licenses for the installed components before the demo time period expires.

Demo timer updated. '<time remaining>'

Error Type:
Warning

Possible Cause:
None.

Solution:
None.

Demonstration time period has expired for <Feature Name>

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The server was running in demo mode, but the demo period has expired.

Solution:
1. Obtain a license for the drivers or plug-ins that were functioning as a demo. For more information, refer to "Support Information," which may be accessed either from the server's Help menu or from the server's Administration menu (located in the System Tray). 2. Reset the two-hour demo period by stopping and restarting the server Runtime. To do so, select "Stop Runtime Service" and then "Start Runtime Service" from the server's Administration menu.

Notes:
1. For information on managing licenses, refer to the License Utility help file. 2. Often, an unlicensed (demo) driver or plug-in is temporarily activated either prior to or after a project is loaded with licensed drivers or plug-ins. This will trigger the two-hour demo period, which will stop the server Runtime project once it expires. To properly restart a licensed project without triggering the demo period, load a project which only uses licensed drivers and plug-ins. Then, stop and the start the server Runtime from the Administration menu.

Device '<device name>' has been auto-demoted

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
Communications with the specified device have failed. The device has been demoted from the poll cycle.

Solution:
1. If the device fails to reconnect, investigate the reasons behind the communications loss and then correct it. 2. To stop the device from being demoted, diasbled Auto-Demotion.

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KEPServerEXV5 Help Device '<device name>' has been auto-promoted to determine if communications can be re-established
Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
If a device that was previously demoted from the poll cycle has been promoted, check to see if it is now available.

Solution:
N/A.

Notes:
If communications fail, the device will be demoted again.

Failed to upload project XML

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
1. The driver, driver schema file or both are not installed. 2. The project was saved in a newer version of the server or one that has incompatible schema fields.

Solution:
1. Verify that the driver and schema files are installed. 2. Compare the versions of the server in which the file was created against the version in which it is being loaded.

FLEXnet Licensing Service must be enabled to process your license. Runtime references are limited to demo operation
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The user is attempting to license a driver or component without the Runtime enabled and running.

Solution:
Start the Runtime Service and then re-attempt licensing.

Module '<module>' is unsigned or has a corrupt signature. Runtime references are limited to demo operation
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
Runtime attempted to validate a license certificate and failed.

Solution:
1. Ensure that the license subscriptions are updated. 2. Ensure that the drivers or suites being used are properly licensed.

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Note:
Until the problem is corrected, the Runtime project will run in Demo mode.

Move object '<group>' to '<group>' failed

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
An attempt to move a tag or group to another group or device failed because the item is referenced by another object.

Solution:
The object may be referenced by another object, although the user may not have the privileges to make the change.

No device driver DLLs were loaded

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The drivers may not have been installed or updated when the server was installed.

Solution:
1. Drivers are synchronized with the server build. Drivers from previous builds may not have required changes; therefore, they cannot be loaded when the server starts. Re-run the server install. 2. The drivers folder is empty; therefore, no drivers could be loaded. Re-run the server install.

Rejecting attempt to delete referenced object '<item name>'

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to remove an object from the server that is being referenced from some other place.

Solution:
Remove the reference and then re-attempt to remove the object.

Rejecting attempt to move referenced object '<item name>'

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to move an object and failed.

Solution:
The object may be referenced by another object, although the user may not have the privileges to make the change.

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161 Runtime project replaced from '<project location>'

Error Type:
Informational

KEPServerEXV5 Help

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
A new project was selected for the Runtime to run.

Solution:
N/A.

Simulation mode is '<enabled/disabled>' on device '<device name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The user's Configuration has Enabled/Disabled Simulation mode for the specified device.

Solution:
N/A.

Starting '<driver name>' device driver

Error Type:
Warning

Possible Cause:
The server successfully loaded and started a driver that will be used in the running project.

Solution:
N/A.

Starting '<plug-in name>' plug-in

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The server started and successfully loaded the plug-in for use.

Solution:
N/A.

Stopping '<driver name>' device driver

Error Type:
Warning

Possible Cause:
The server successfully stopped the specified driver in preparation for server shutdown or project change.

Solution:
None.

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Error Type:
Informational

162

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The server is shutting down and the plug-in was successfully un-loaded.

Solution:
N/A.

The tier information for feature '<feature>' is invalid

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
This is a custom licensed product for OEMs and vendors. An error has occurred loading the custom licensing string.

Solution:
Contact the OEM/Vendor for more information and support.

Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device name>'. Reason: '<reason>'
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The server attempted to generate tags for the specified device and failed with the specified reason.

Solution:
Correct the reason of failure and then retry the tag generation.

Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device name>'. The device is not responding
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The server attempted to generate tags from the physical device and failed because the device did not respond to the communications request.

Solution:
1. Verify that the device is powered on and that the PC running (so that the server can connect to it). 2. Verify that all cabling is correct. 3. Verify that the Device IDs are correct.

Unable to load project '<project name>'

Error Type:

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Warning

KEPServerEXV5 Help

Possible Cause:
The project was created in a server version that is not compatible with version that trying to load it.

Solution:
Typically this happens when a project was created in a newer version of the server and it is being opened in an older version.

Note:
Every attempt is made to ensure backwards compatibility in the server so that projects created in older versions may be loaded in newer versions. However, since new versions of the server and driver may have properties and configurations that do not exist in older version, users may not be able to open or load a project created in a newer version of the server in an older version.

Unable to write to item '<item name>'

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
The client application sent a write to an item and it was rejected.

Solution:
1. The tag may have Read/Write access in the server even though the device only allows reads. Verify that the item is Read Only and change the access Writes in the server. Additionally, change the action in the connected client application. 2. The server may have timed-out in demo mode. Save and then restart the server.

Update of object '<object>' failed

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to update an object in the project that is neither accessible nor available.

Solution:
Save the project to a different location.

Write request rejected on item reference '<item name>' since the device it belongs to is disabled
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to write to a tag that is on a disabled device.

Solution:
Devices can be programmatically disabled, thus indicating to the server that it should not be communicated with at this time. To enable it, write to the _Enabled system tag. Alternatively, check the Enable data collection check box in Device Properties.

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KEPServerEX V5 Help Write request rejected on Read Only item reference '<item name>'
Error Type:
Warning

164

Source:
Runtime

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made by the client application to write to a Read Only item.

Solution:
1. Change the tag's access to Read/Write (if supported). 2. Change the client application so that it does not attempt to write to the item.

Server Configuration Error Messages

The following error/warning messages may be generated. Click on the link for a description of the message.

Server Configuration Error Messages

'<device name>' device driver loaded successfully '<driver name>' device driver unloaded from memory '<driver name>' device driver was not found or could not be loaded '<driver name>' driver does not currently support XML persistence '<plug-in>' plug-in was not found or could not be loaded A client application has '<enabled/disabled>' auto-demotion on device '<device name>' Closing project '<project name>' Created backup of project '<project name>' to '<file location>' Duplicate Channel Wizard page ID '<ID number>' detected Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': '<tag name>' is not a valid tag group name Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': '<tag name>' is not a valid tag name Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': Missing address Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': Tag or group name exceeds 256 characters Failed to reset channel diagnostics Failed to retrieve Runtime project Invalid Ethernet encapsulation IP '<IP address>' Invalid or missing Modem Configuration on channel '<channel name', substituting '<modem>' Invalid XML document '<XML name>' Maximum channel count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Maximum device count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Maximum Runtime tag count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Modem initialization failed on channel '<channel name>' Opening project '<project name>' Required schema file '<schema name>' not found Runtime project update failed Starting OPC diagnostics Stopping OPC diagnostics Unable to add channel due to driver-level failure Unable to add device due to driver-level failure Unable to backup project file to '<file name/location>' Unable to backup project file to '<file path>' Unable to begin device discovery on channel '<Channel Name>' Unable to launch OPC Quick Client [Path: '<path>' OS Error: '<error>'] Unable to load driver DLL '<driver name>' Unable to load the '<driver name>' driver because more than one copy exists ('<driver name>' and '<driver name>' Unable to use network adapter '<adapter>' on channel '<channel name>'. Using default network adapter Validation error on '<tag name>': Invalid scaling parameters

'<device name>' device driver loaded successfully

Error Type:

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Warning

KEPServerEXV5 Help

Possible Cause:
The Configuration was able to successfully load the driver into its workspace.

Solution:
N/A.

'<driver name>' device driver unloaded from memory

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The driver was unloaded from the server's memory space because it was no longer needed.

Solution
N/A.

'<driver name>' device driver was not found or could not be loaded
Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to load a project with a channel using the specified driver which could not be found or loaded. 1. If the project has been moved from one PC to another, the required drivers may have not been installed yet. 2. The specified driver may have been removed from the installed server. 3. The specified driver may be the wrong version for the installed server version.

Solution:
1. Re-run the server install and add the required drivers. 2. Re-run the server install and re-install the specified drivers. 3. Ensure that a driver has not been placed in the installed server directory (which is out of sync with the server version).

'<driver name>' driver does not currently support XML persistence

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The specified driver does not support XML formatting.

Solution:
Save the project in .opf format.

'<plug-in>' plug-in was not found or could not be loaded

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

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Possible Cause:
The server project being loaded is using a plug-in that cannot be found.

166

Solution:
Re-run the server install and select the specified plug-in for installation.

A client application has '<enabled/disabled>' auto-demotion on device '<device name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
A client application that is connected to the server has enabled or disabled Auto Demotion on the specified device.

Solution:
To restrict the client application from doing this, disable its ability to write to System-level tags through the OPC DA Settings.

Closing project '<project name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The specified project was closed.

Solution:
N/A.

Created backup of project '<project name>' to '<file location>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The server was able to successfully backup the server project.

Solution:
N/A.

Duplicate Channel Wizard page ID '<ID number>' detected

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
This message indicates that two Channel Wizard pages were created with the same ID.

Solution:
Contact Technical Support.

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KEPServerEXV5 Help Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': '<tag name>' is not a valid tag group name
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
A tag group has been imported in the CSV file that is incorrectly formatted.

Solution:
Correct the syntax in the CSV file and then re-import.

Note:
Tag group names may not start with '_' (Underscores), '.' (Periods) or ' ' (spaces).

Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': '<tag name>' is not a valid tag name
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
A tag has been imported in the CSV file that is incorrectly formatted.

Solution:
Correct the syntax in the CSV file and then re-import.

Note:
Tag names may not start with '_' (Underscores), '.'(Periods) or ' ' (spaces).

Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': Missing address

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to import a CSV file. The tag was configured in the CSV without an address specified in the address field.

Solution:
Add an address to the specified record and re-run the CSV import.

Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': Tag or group name exceeds 256 characters
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
A tag or tag group has been imported from a CSV file that has a name exceeding the 256 character limit.

Solution:

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Correct the specified name in the CSV file and then re-import.

168

Note:
The tag record is calculated from the List of tags in the CSV file, beginning with the first item listed.

Failed to reset channel diagnostics

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
A failed attempt was made to reset the Channel Diagnostics data.

Solution:
Ensure that diagnostics are enabled for this channel.

Failed to retrieve Runtime project

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The Configuration connected to the Runtime but was unable to load the project for editing.

Solution:
1. The Configuration could be a different version than the Runtime. Ensure that the client and Runtime versions can work together. If not, install the correct Configuration . 2. The project loaded by the Runtime may have been deleted. Verify that the project still exists; if it does not, restore it.

Invalid Ethernet encapsulation IP '<IP address>'

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The IP address that is specified for a device on an Ethernet Encapsulated channel is not a valid IP address.

Solution:
Correct the IP in the XML file and then re-load the project.

Note:
This error occurs when loading XML formatted projects. These projects have usually been created or edited with a third party XML software.

Invalid or missing Modem Configuration on channel '<channel name>', substituting '<modem>'

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
A server project was loaded that uses a modem unavailable on this PC.

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

Solution:
1. Change the Modem Configuration in the project to use a supported modem. 2. Add the specified modem to the PC's Configuration.

Invalid XML document '<XML name>'

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The server attempted to open a project formatted with XML and was unable to parse the XML file.

Solution:
If the server project was edited using a third party XML editor, verify that the format is correct via the schemas for the server and drivers.

Maximum channel count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The specified driver was activated with a lite license, which limits the number of channels that can be configured.

Solution:
1. Verify the number of channels authorized by the license. Then, correct the project design to use only that number of channels. 2. If more channels are needed or the lite activation is incorrect, contact the sales representative about upgrading the license to a version that will support the number of desired channels.

Maximum device count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The specified driver was activated with a lite license, which limits the number of devices that can be configured.

Solution:
1. Verify the number of devices authorized by the license. Then, correct the project design to use only that number of channels. 2. If more devices are needed or the lite activation is incorrect, contact the sales representative about upgrading the license to a version that will support the number of desired devices.

Maximum Runtime tag count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license
Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

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Possible Cause:
The specified driver was activated with a lite license, which limits the number of tags that can be configured.

Solution:
1. Verify the number of tags authorized by the license and then correct the project design to use only that number of channels. 2. If more tags are needed or if the lite activation is incorrect, contact the sales representative about upgrading the license to a version that will support the number of desired tags.

Modem initialization failed on channel '<channel name>'

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
A server made a failed attempt to initialize the modem assigned to the specified channel.

Solution:
Refer to the additional events that will be posted with details on the initialization errors.

Opening project '<project name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The specified project was opened.

Solution:
N/A.

Required schema file '<schema name>' not found

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
A project formatted with XML was loaded but the specified schema file was not found in the schemas folder.

Solution:
Re-run the server install and make sure that all the drivers are updated. This will re-install any missing schema files.

Runtime project update failed

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The client attempted to update the Runtime project and failed.

Solution:

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KEPServerEXV5 Help
1. The user may not have permission to make changes to the project. Log in to the User Manager with the correct user credentials. 2. The project folder may be locked to changes. Verify that all users with access to the project have permissions in the folder.

Starting OPC diagnostics

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
OPC diagnostics captures were started by a connected Configuration.

Solution:
N/A.

Stopping OPC diagnostics

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
OPC Diagnostics capturing were stopped by a connected Configuration.

Solution:
N/A.

Unable to add channel due to driver-level failure

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to add a channel to the server and it failed due to issues in the driver.

Solution:
1. Refer to the additional messages that will be posted with information on the driver-level error. 2. If necessary, contact Technical Support for additional help.

Unable to add device due to driver level failure

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to create a device in a server project, but it failed due to an issue in the driver.

Solution:
Refer to the additional error messages that follow, in order to learn about the driver error.

Unable to backup project file to '<file name/location>'

Error Type:

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Error

172

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The server was unable to backup the project to the specified location.

Solution:
Ensure access permissions to the destination folder.

Unable to backup project file to '<file path>'

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The server was unable to back up the server project to the specified file location.

Solution:
1. Ensure that the destination file is not locked by another application. 2. Ensure that the destination file, along with the folder where it is located, has Read/Write access.

Note:
This error is most likely due to Read/Write access permissions.

Unable to begin device discovery on channel '<Channel Name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
1. Thedriver could not be started. 2. The server's demonstration time period has expired.

Solution:
Verify that the driver is licensed, that the server is running, or that the server is within the demonstration time period.

See Also:
Demonstration time period has expired for <Feature Name>

Unable to launch OPC Quick Client [Path: '<path>' OS Error: '<error>']

Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to launch the OPC Quick Client from the Configuration and it failed.

Solution:
1. Verify that the OPC Quick Client is installed in the specified location. If not, re-run the server installation and select it for installation. 2. Verify that the required access rights to launch the OPC Quick Client from its specified location are had. 3. Contact Technical Support for assistance in determining the fault from the OS Error.

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Error Type:
Error

KEPServerEXV5 Help

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The specified driver could not be loaded when the project started.

Solution:
1. Verify the version of the driver that is installed. Check the OPC server's website to see if the driver version is for the version of the server that is installed. If not, correct the server or re-run the server install. 2. If the driver is found to be corrupted, delete it and then re-run the server install.

Note:
This problem is usually due to corrupted driver DLLs or drivers that are not in sync with the server version.

Unable to load the '<driver name>' driver because more than one copy exists ('<driver name>' and '<driver name>')
Error Type:
Error

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
There are multiple versions of the driver DLL existing in the driver's folder in the server.

Solution:
Contact Technical support and verify which version should be installed for the version of the server being run. Remove the driver that is invalid and then restart the server and load the project.

Unable to use network adapter '<adapter>' on channel '<channel name>'. Using default network adapter
Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
The network adapter specified in the project does not exist on this PC. Thus, the server will default to using the default network adapter.

Solution:
Select the network adapter that will be used on the PC and then save the project.

See Also:
Channel Properties - Network Interface

Validation error on '<tag name>': Invalid scaling parameters

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
Configuration

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to set invalid scaling parameters on the specified tag.

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Solution:
Correct the scaling parameters and then save the tag.

General Operation System Error Messages

The following error/warning messages may be generated. Click on the link for a description of the message.

General Operation System Error Messages

, Error control , Forced error control , Hardware flow control , Software flow control Dialing '<phone number>' on line '<modem name>' Dialing aborted on '<modem name>' Dialing on line '<modem name>' cancelled by user Failed to open modem line '<modem name>' [TAPI error] Hardware error on line '<modem name>' Incoming call detected on line '<modem name>' Line '<modem name>' connected Line '<modem name>' connected at '<baud rate>' baud Line '<modem name>' disconnected Line '<modem name>' is already in use Line dropped at remote site on '<modem name>' Modem line closed: '<modem name>' Modem line opened: '<modem name>' Modem to Modem DCE: '<connection parameters>' MODEMSETTINGS unavailable No comm handle provided on connect for line '<modem name>' No dial tone on '<modem name>' Remote line is busy on '<modem name>' Remote line is not answering on '<modem name>' TAPI configuration has changed, reinitializing... TAPI line initialization failed: '<modem name>' The phone number is invalid '<phone number>' Unable to apply Modem Configuration on line '<modem name>' Unable to dial on line '<modem name>' Unable to start Net DDE

, Error control
Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
Error control has been set in the Modem Configuration dialog.

Solution:
N/A.

, Forced error control

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
Forced Error control has been set in the Modem Configuration dialog

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

Solution:
N/A.

, Hardware flow control

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
Hardware Flow control has been set in the Modem Configuration dialog.

Solution:
N/A.

, Software flow control

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
Software Flow control has been set in the Modem Configuration dialog.

Solution:
N/A.

Dialing '<phone number>' on line '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
TAPI manager is dialing the specified number for the server.

Solution:
N/A.

Dialing aborted on '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
Dialing was aborted by the user.

Solution:
N/A.

Dialing on line '<modem name>' cancelled by user

Error Type:
Informational

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Source:
TAPI Manager

176

Possible Cause:
The Server has canceled its request to dial a device on the specified line.

Solution:
N/A.

Failed to open modem line '<modem name>' [TAPI error]

Error Type:
Error

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
TAPI attempted to open the modem line for the server and encountered an error.

Solution:
Correct the specified error. Then, re-attempt to open the modem line.

Hardware error on line '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
A hardware error was returned after a request was made for a tag in a device that will be connected to the modem.

Solution:
Disable data collection on the device. Only enable it after the modem has connected to the destination modem.

Note:
The error will occur on first scan and will not be repeated.

Incoming call detected on line '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The modem has detected an incoming call on phone line on which it is connected. If the modem is set to automatically answer, it will answer the incoming call.

Solution:
N/A.

Line '<modem name>' connected

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:

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The modem lines are connected.

KEPServerEXV5 Help

Solution:
None available.

Line '<modem name>' connected at '<baud rate>' baud

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The modem connected to the dialed modem at the specified rate.

Solution:
N/A.

Line '<modem name>' disconnected

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
TAPI manager has disconnected the modem for the server.

Solution:
N/A.

Line '<modem name>' is already in use

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to open the modem line but could not be completed because it was already open.

Solution:
Find the application that is currently holding the modem open. Then, either close or release it.

Line dropped at remote site on '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The remote modem has hung up and dropped the call.

Solution:
N/A.

Modem line closed: '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Warning

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178

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The modem line was closed by the TAPI manager.

Solution:
This message is normally posted when a project is stopped and the driver no longer needs the modem line.

Modem line opened: '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The modem line was opened by the TAPI manager.

Solution:
This message is normally posted when a project is started and the driver needs the modem line.

Modem to Modem DCE: '<connection parameters>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
Modem connection is established to the remote modem.

Solution:
N/A.

MODEMSETTINGS unavailable
Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The Modem Configuration dialog has been loaded but the modem settings for the selected modem are not accessible.

Solution:
If the modem was recently installed, try stopping and restarting the server. The PC may need to be rebooted in order for the modem settings to become available.

No comm handle provided on connect for line '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to connect to the modem line with no specified COMM handle.

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Solution:
Make sure the modem is both installed and initialized correctly.

KEPServerEXV5 Help

No dial tone on '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
There is no dial tone on the line.

Solution:
1. Make sure that the modem is connected. 2. The phone line may require a code or number to get an outside line or dial tone. Make sure that the Modem settings are correctly set to automatically dial this number when a connection is made to the modem.

Remote line is busy on '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The dialed location is busy.

Solution:
Hang up and then try again later.

Remote line is not answering on '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The dialed modem is not answering the call.

Solution:
1. Hang up and then try again later. 2. Verify that the remote modem is configured to answer calls.

TAPI configuration has changed, reinitializing...

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The TAPI Line configuration has changed. TAPI is now reinitializing the modem with the changes.

Solution:
None available.

TAPI line initialization failed: '<modem name>'

Error Type:

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Warning

180

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The telephony service is not required to be running in order for the Runtime to start. When the service is disabled and a serial driver is added to the project, this error message is reported.

Solution:
1. If modem communications is not going to be used, no action is required. 2. If modem communications is required, the telephony service will need to be started on the PC.

The phone number is invalid '<phone number>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The phone number entered and dialed is incorrectly formatted for the local or long distance settings.

Solution:
Open the Modem Configuration and verify the number formats required. Then, re-dial the number with the correct format.

Unable to apply Modem Configuration on line '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Warning

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
TAPI Manager was unable to apply to Configuration changes to the server.

Solution:
1. Verify the cabling to the modem. 2. Verify that the modem is set to accept Configuration changes. 3. Verify that the modem is not being used by another application.

Unable to dial on line '<modem name>'

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
TAPI Manager

Possible Cause:
The server is unable to have the modem dial the number because the modem is not in a state that allows dialing.

Solution:
In order to dial a number, the line must be idle. Monitor the _Mode Modem Tag and dial when it indicates an idle state.

Unable to start Net DDE

Error Type:
Warning

Source:

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DDE

KEPServerEXV5 Help

Possible Cause:
1. The server project is configured to allow Net DDE but was unable to launch Net DDE. 2. Net DDE Servers are not enabled to run as a service on this PC or have been completely disabled.

Solution:
1. Go to the Service manager and ensure that Net DDE services is enabled and set to automatically start. 2. Check with the IT administrator and make sure that Net DDE services are allowed. If not, have the local policy changed to allow Net DDE.

iFIX Error Messages

The following error/warning messages may be generated. Click on the link for a description of the message.

iFIX Error Messages

Attempt to add iFIX PDB item '< item name>' failed Failed to enable iFIX PDB support for this server [OS Error = n] Unable to enable iFIX PDB support for this server Unable to read '<tag name>' on device '<channel name/device name>'

Attempt to add iFIX PDB item '< item name>' failed

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
NIO

Possible Cause:
The server was not able to add the NIO interface.

Solution:
The server could be in use by a client application. In this case, changes (such as, new interfaces) can be disabled.

Failed to enable iFIX PDB support for this server [OS Error = n]
Error Type:
Informational

Source:
NIO

Possible Cause:
The server was unable to access the registry to enable the NIO interface.

Solution:
This error generally concerns user account access rights. Users must have administrator privileges to write to the registry.

Unable to enable iFIX PDB support for this server

Error Type:
Informational

Source:
NIO

Possible Cause:
The interface cannot be enabled for use because it may already be enabled for someone else.

Solution:
If possible, stop the other application that is using the interface.

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KEPServerEX V5 Help Unable to read '<tag name>' on device ' <channel name/device name>'
Error Type:
Warning

182

Possible Cause:
A database tag has been created within the iFIX database containing an invalid I/O address.

Solution Steps:
1. Delete the tag from the iFIX database (if not already deleted). 2. Delete the "<server project>_FIX.ini" file. 3. Export the PDB database from the iFIX Database Manager. 4. Re-import the exported file so that "<server project>_FIX.ini" is recreated with the current list of iFIX database items. This will allow each item that is in the iFIX database to be re-validated with the server.

See Also:
Project Startup for iFIX Applications

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

Index
'
'<device name>' device driver loaded successfully '<driver name>' device driver unloaded from memory '<driver name>' device driver was not found or could not be loaded '<driver name>' driver does not currently support XML persistence '<plug-in>' plug-in was not found or could not be loaded '<server name>' Server Started '<server runtime>' successfully configured to run as a system service '<server runtime>' successfully removed from the service control manager database 164 165 165 165 165 153 153 153

_
_ Error control _ Forced error control _ Hardware flow control _ Software flow control 174 174 175 175

A
A client application has '<enabled/disabled>' auto-demotion on device '<device name>' Accessing the Administration Menu Adding and Configuring a Channel Adding and Configuring a Device Adding Tag Scaling Adding User-Defined Tags Alias Properties Attempt to add DDE item '<item name>' failed Attempt to add FastDDE/SuiteLink item '<tag name>' failed Attempt to add iFIX PDB item '< item name>' failed Attempt to add OPC Client item '<item name>' failed Attempting to automatically generate tags for device '<device name>' Auto generation for tag '<tag name>' already exists and will not be overwritten Auto generation produced too many overwrites, stopped posting error messages Automatic OPC Tag Database Generation 166 18 99 100 106 101 95 153 154 181 154 154 155 155 30

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B
Basic Server Components Built-In Diagnostics 66 54

C
Channel Diagnostics Channel diagnostics started on channel '<channel name>' Channel diagnostics stopped on channel '<channel name>' Channel Properties - Advanced Channel Properties - Communications Channel Properties - Device Discovery Channel Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation Channel Properties - General Channel Properties - Modem Channel Properties - Network Interface Channel Properties - RTS Line Control Channel Properties - Write Optimizations Closing project '<project name>' Communication Serialization Tags Communications Management Completed automatic tag generation for device '<device name>' Components Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' as Default User has ended Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' demoted to Read Only Configuration session assigned to '<user name>' promoted to Write Access Configuration session started by '<user name>' Configuration TCP/IP port number changed to '<port number>' Created backup of project '<project name>' to '<file location>' 62 155 155 76 67 75 74 66 71 69 70 72 166 46 48 155 11 156 156 156 156 157 166

D
Data collection is '<enabled/disabled>' on device '<device name>' DDE DDE client attempt to add topic '<topic>' failed Delete object '<item name>' failed 157 16 157 157

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

Demo timer started. '<days>' '<hours>' '<minutes>' '<seconds>' Demo timer updated. '<time remaining>' Designing a Project Device '<device name>' has been auto-demoted Device '<device name>' has been auto-promoted to determine if communications can be re-established Device Properties - Auto-Demotion Device Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation Device Properties - General Device Properties - Scan Mode Device Properties - Timing Dialing '<phone number>' on line '<modem name>' Dialing aborted on '<modem name>' Dialing on line '<modem name>' cancelled by user Duplicate Channel Wizard page ID '<ID number>' detected Dynamic Tags

157 158 98 158 159 83 81 78 80 82 175 175 175 166 91

E
Error Descriptions Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': '<tag name>' is not a valid tag group name Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': '<tag name>' is not a valid tag name Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': Missing address 150 167 167 167

Error importing CSV tag record '<record number>': Tag or group name exceeds 256 char- 167 acters Event Log Display Event Log Page Setup 96 96

F
Failed to enable iFIX PDB support for this server [OS Error = n] Failed to open modem line '<modem name>' [TAPI error] Failed to reset channel diagnostics Failed to retrieve runtime project Failed to upload project XML FastDDE/SuiteLink FLEXnet Licensing Service must be enabled to process your license 181 176 168 168 159 16 159

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G
General Operation System Error Messages Generating Multiple Tags 174 103

H
Hardware error on line '<modem name>' How Do I... How To... Allow Desktop Interactions How To... Create and Use an Alias How To... Optimize the Server Project 176 140 140 140 142

How To... Resolve Comm Issues When the DNS/DHCP Device Connected to the Server is 144 Power Cycled How To... Use an Alias to Optimize a Project How To... Use Dynamic Tag Addressing How To... Use Ethernet Encapsulation How To...Process Array Data How To...Select the Correct Network Cable How To...Use DDE with the Server How To...Use NetDDE Across a Network 145 147 147 143 144 146 149

I
iFIX Error Messages iFIX Native Interfaces iFIX Signal Conditioning Options Incoming call detected on line '<modem name>' Interfaces and Connectivity Introduction Invalid Ethernet encapsulation IP '<IP address>' Invalid or missing Modem Configuration on channel '<channel name>', substituting '<modem>' Invalid XML document '<XML name>' 181 16 123 176 13 9 168 168 169

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

K
KEPServerEX 9

L
Line '<modem name>' connected Line '<modem name>' connected at '<baud rate>' baud Line '<modem name>' disconnected Line '<modem name>' is already in use Line dropped at remote site on '<modem name>' 176 177 177 177 177

M
Maximum channel count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Maximum device count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Maximum runtime tag count exceeded for the lite version '<driver name>' driver license Modem Auto-Dial Modem initialization failed on channel '<channel name>' Modem line closed '<modem name>' Modem line opened '<modem name>' Modem Tags Modem to Modem DCE '<connection parameters>' MODEMSETTINGS unavailable 169 169 169 52 170 177 178 44 178 178

Module '<module>' is unsigned or has a corrupt signature. Runtime references are limited 159 to demo operation Move object '<group>' to '<group>' failed Multiple Tag Generation 160 86

N
New Channel - Communications New Channel - Device Driver New Channel - Identification New Channel - Summary New Device - ID 114 113 113 115 117

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New Device - Model New Device - Name New Device - Scan Mode New Device - Summary New Device - Timing No comm handle provided on connect for line '<modem name>' No device driver DLLs were loaded No dial tone on '<modem name>'

117 116 119 120 119 178 160 179

O
OPC .NET OPC AE OPC DA OPC Diagnostic Events OPC Diagnostics Window OPC UA Opening project '<project name>' Options - General Options - Runtime Connection 15 13 13 56 54 14 170 121 122

P
Phone Number Tags Phonebook Tags Process Modes Project Properties Project Properties - DDE Project Properties - FastDDE/Suitelink Project Properties - Identification Project Properties - iFIX PDB Settings Project Properties - OPC .NET Project Properties - OPC AE Project Properties - OPC DA Compliance Project Properties - OPC DA Settings Project Properties - OPC UA Project Startup for iFIX Applications Property Tags 51 50 12 129 132 133 129 134 139 138 130 129 136 128 41

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

R
Rejecting attempt to delete referenced object '<item name>' Rejecting attempt to move referenced object '<item name>' Remote line is busy on '<modem name>' Remote line is not answering on '<modem name>' Required schema file '<schema name>' not found Running the Server Runtime project replaced from '<project location>' Runtime project update failed 160 160 179 179 170 98 161 170

S
Saving the Project Server Configuration Error Messages Server Options Server Runtime Error Messages Server Summary Information Settings Settings - Administration Settings - Configuration Settings - Event Log Settings - Host Resolution Settings - ProgID Redirect Settings - Runtime Options Settings - Runtime Process Simulation mode is '<enabled/disabled>' on device '<device name>' Starting '<driver name>' device driver Starting '<plug-in name>' plug-in Starting a New Project Starting OPC diagnostics Static Tags (User-Defined) Statistics Tags Stopping '<driver name>' device driver Stopping '<plug-in name>' plug-in Stopping OPC diagnostics System Requirements System Tags 107 164 121 152 10 20 21 21 24 27 25 23 22 161 161 161 98 171 92 42 161 162 171 9 34

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T
Tag Group Properties Tag Management Tag Properties - General Tag Properties - Scaling TAPI configuration has changed, reinitializing... TAPI line initialization failed '<modem name>' Testing the Project The phone number is invalid '<phone number>' The tier information for feature '<feature>' is invalid Thin-Client Terminal Server 92 28 84 90 179 179 108 180 162 16

U
Unable to add channel due to driver-level failure Unable to add device due to driver level failure Unable to apply Modem Configuration on line '<modem name>' Unable to backup project file to '<file name/location>' Unable to backup project file to '<file path>' Unable to begin device discovery on channel '<Channel Name>' Unable to dial on line '<modem name>' Unable to enable iFIX PDB support for this server Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device name>'. Reason: '<reason>' 171 171 180 171 172 172 180 181 162

Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device name>'. The device is not respond- 162 ing Unable to launch OPC Quick Client [Path: '<path>' OS Error: '<error>'] Unable to load project '<project name>' Unable to load the '<driver name>' driver because more than one copy exists ('<driver name>' and '<driver name>') Unable to read '<tag name>' on device ' <channel name/device name>' Unable to start NETDDE Unable to use network adapter '<adapter>' on channel '<channel name>'. Using default network adapter Unable to write to item '<item name>' Update of object '<object>' failed User Manager User Properties 172 162 173 182 180 173 163 163 18 19

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KEPServerEXV5 Help

Using a Modem in the Server Project

48

V
Validation error on '<tag name>': Invalid scaling parameters 173

W
What is a Channel? What is a Device? What is a Tag Group? What is a Tag? What is the Alias Map? What is the Event Log? Write request rejected on item reference '<item name>' since the device it belongs to is disabled Write request rejected on Read Only item reference '<item name>' 66 77 92 84 94 96 163 164

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